


Am I Loyal, Brave, and True?

by LizzyLovesPink



Category: Helix Waltz (Video Game)
Genre: 1910's, Alternate Universe - Mulan (1998) Fusion, But also open-ended, Canon Universe, Crossdressing, Developing Friendships, Dirty Talk, Father-Daughter Relationship, Female Pronouns for Hugh Olineaux, Finished, Gen, Gender Roles, Happy Ending, Historical Accuracy, Historically-Accurate Clothing, Holly is Hugh's actual name, Maybe I could write a sequel featuring Hugh in Lionheart Kingdom?, Menstruation, Misunderstandings, Possibly OOC but that's to be expected, Romantic Tension, Sulla!Magda, Title taken from a song, Trench Warfare, Whereas Hugh becomes her name in disguise, World War I, bathing together, headcanon-based, life in the trenches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:27:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27005800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzyLovesPink/pseuds/LizzyLovesPink
Summary: Holly Olineaux, as the only daughter of her knightly family, is expected to be married off to a good match and secure her family's position in the social hierarchy, even though she'd rather spend her days out riding or roughhousing. After a disastrous dinner date, Zoe gets conscripted to fight against the Sulla invasion despite his age and how much battle has changed in recent years, leaving Holly to make a dangerous decision.Redubbing herself Hugh, she steals Zoe's uniform and weapons and enlists to fight in the war in his place. Aided by only her snark and a chipper Sulla girl named Magda, can Hugh bring honor to her family in the midst of war or will she get revealed and left to die?Mulan AU/Retelling
Relationships: Alan & Hugh Olineaux, Barbalius & Hugh Olineaux, Barris Sakan/Hugh Olineaux(Mentioned; Past), Gonzalo Jorcastle & Hugh Olineaux, Juven Sakan & Hugh Olineaux, Magda Ellenstein & Hugh Olineaux, Zoe Olineaux & Hugh Olineaux
Kudos: 3





	1. Embroidery

**Author's Note:**

> Walk into the club like what up, you ready for me to unsuccessfully revive a dead fandom 
> 
> No seriously I've had this idea in my mind for over a year now and I finally decided to just sit down and get this done. Doesn't Hugh's story work well for Mulan? I think it does. It'll be shorter than expected purely because the story itself is fairly straight forward. Also since I suppose people don't read tags as much anymore, obviously Hugh is a girl in this; she's referred to using female pronouns, and Holly is her 'girl' name whereas Hugh is the name she uses in disguise.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holly feels bored and limited as her family's only daughter, taught to be proper, delicate, and only a tool to be wed. However, she grins and bears it to make her family and especially Zoe happy.

The gloves and ribbon were placed unceremoniously under a tree; normally they'd be worn by a girl but in this case, the girl who owned them was busy chasing her older brother around with a wooden sword. 

"Bet you I can catch you!" Seven-year-old Holly Olineaux cheered, chasing after Balfey. 

"Come on, I can't run faster than you!" Eight-year-old Balfey pouted, stopping to gasp out some breaths when Holly barreled into him, knocking him over. They both splashed into the mud and she jokingly tapped his chest with her sword, grinning. 

"Too bad! I won anyway!" 

"Come on, that's not fair," Balfey pouted further. 

"If this was a real battle, you'd be dead," Holly pressed, finally getting off him. Her blue sailor dress had been stained through with mud and her hair, once tastefully braided, was starting to come loose. 

"Well I don't even wanna be a soldier!" Balfey stood up, staring at her. "I'm going to start my own business and get married to a beautiful lady!" 

"Oh? Then who shall take over the role of leading the Amber Knights?" Nine-year-old Vicky asked, walking over in her own sailor dress, pristine and untouched. 

"Father cares too much about stuff like that," Balfey pouted. 

"It's Daddy's livelihood! I'll become the new head!" Holly announced eagerly. "I'd love to be a knight!" 

"No way, a girl can't be a knight!" 

"Yes she can! I'm going to be a knight and be the best girl knight there ever was!" Holly pouted, twirling around with her wooden sword. She saw a random tree in the yard and posed, tossing her sword at the trunk of the tree, making it bounce off harmlessly. "If that was a target, I would've hit the heart," She pouted further. 

"I think you'd make a lovely waitress," Vicky tried to reassure her relative. "Now come over here so I can redo your braid," 

()()()()()()()()()()

Holly sighed to herself as she finished her sampler work for the day. It was a more complex piece of a flowery field, and Vicky had already finished hers, but Holly's was often badly-tangled and she had to pull the tangles out and start all over. She had finished all of the yellow flowers and was quite proud of herself for getting them done in such a timely manner and there hadn't been any tangles that time! Still, it wasn't fair that Vicky had finished first and was granted permission to leave by Christie. Holly assumed she was already out riding her horse or drinking in a bar. Which was unfair! She'd much rather be out riding her horse than sitting in a stuffy house all day, trying to work on embroidery that she could never truly get the knack of. 

"Did you hear?" Barbara asked excitedly from her seat. 

"What?" Nyx asked a bit shyly. 

"The Sulla Invasion took out a bunch of our soldiers! Finsel soldiers. The causalities were so bad, the military is looking for replacements from the different soldier garrisons!" 

"Really?" 

Barbara just nodded, basically squealing at the thought of her older brother likely being conscripted and going on an adventure. 

Holly perked up slightly at that. "How soon will they look for people?" 

"In a few days." Barbara said. Her own sampler was halfway finished and was of a dove perched on a branch. Holly worked silently yet diligently after hearing that bit of information. Finally, the perfect chance! A good opportunity to break out of her mundane life and do something exciting for once! 

"Mother, how does my sampler look?" Holly asked as politely as she could, holding it out to Christie. 

"Let me see," Christie gently took it from her and looked it over carefully. "No knots or tangles this time, that's good. It means you're improving and slowly becoming more patient." She handed it back. "Since you've finished, you may retire," 

Holly wanted nothing more than to spring up from her chair and dash from the room, but managed to compose herself as she gently stood up, curtsied politely, and took her sampler and sewing kit in her hands, indeed retiring to her room. As she put everything away, she thought back to Barbara's announcement. The war with the Sulla had been an ongoing issue for the past four years, but Finsel's troops had always been able to keep them mostly at bay, partially due to all of the foreign influence Finsel had in allies around the world. Still, if the troops were starting to struggle...Holly wasn't sure how Barbara of all people heard about it, but it mattered little. She finished putting her things away and headed down to the stable, saddling up her favourite black mare and riding off into the forest. She smiled to herself as the wind blew through her hair, making her braid whip around. She slowly slipped her legs around either side of the horse and leaned forward slightly, wanting to ride harder. 

The path taken through the forest was a more perilous one but it was Holly's favourite. She saw the small river coming up and tightened her grip on her horse's reins, yanking them back and feeling the rush of wind flow past her as the horse jumped, splashing water on the two of them. They kept riding and she gently patted her horse's mane. 

"I'd trade everything to just keep doing stuff like this," She sighed, slowing her horse down. Her hair strands stuck to her cheek and she adjusted her skirt slightly, thinking maybe it'd be easier to ride if she cut holes in her dresses. Or found a way to make Balfey's clothing fit her properly. 

Once the sky begun turning purple and the air turned chilly, Holly knew it was time to turn her horse around and ride back to her manor, which she did so. She placed her mare back in the stable and gently patted her before she snuck inside through the kitchen, trying to head back to her room to look more presentable for dinner. She heard no noise from the parlor and assumed both Barbara and Nyx had gone home. She silently ran up the stairs and put on a clean day-dress in yellow, attempting to fix her braid to the best of her ability before she went downstairs. 

"Here I am!" She announced to her family. 

"There you are," Zoe teased as she sat down. "Where did you go?" 

"Around," 

"Holly's been making very good progress on her sampler embroidery as of late. She's becoming more delicate and patient as the years ago by!" Christie beamed. "I'm so proud of her!" 

"She'll be married off in no time then," Zoe said. 

"Oh! Don't you have that dinner with Sir Barris tomorrow?" Vicky spoke up, making Holly wince. 

"Why did you have to remind me? I don't want anything to do with that man or his family! He's so dull and keeps shouting 'guilty' at everyone as if it's his catch-phrase," She pouted. "Please stop arranging these dinners for us," 

"It's for the best...Sir Barris is from a very good and prestigious family, you know. He may be more career-focused, but isn't that a good thing? It leaves you to do your own thing," Christie said, clasping her hands together. 

"We've tried for years to find a suitable match for you! He was gracious enough to give you the chance," Zoe said sharply. "Just try for us," 

Holly winced but very slowly nodded. She mainly played with her food, not feeling particularly hungry. Her father was right, of course. Holly despised the sheer thought of marriage and any man who was bold enough to make an attempt at 'courting' her usually got met with a slap. Yet what else could she even do? The only girly hobby she genuinely loved was fashion; she wore so much glitz and glitter and bedazzled gunk on her clothing many took to calling her a mirror, for she reflected herself too much in her jewels and toy medals. Others called her a walking clothing store from how much of everything she put on solely to make herself look taller and have more of a figure. But fashion wasn't enough to persuade many men who also wanted some sort of intellectual or artistic ability, and Holly had...none. As she grew up it wasn't too much of an issue but now that she was starting to genuinely be viewed as a woman, it _was_ a problem. 

"I'll try," She grumbled under her breath. Oh, she'd try, but she wouldn't like it. A part of her hoped Barris would eventually give up on her and leave her to her own devices like all of her other potential suitors had. He was so old, after all, how amusing could she possibly be to someone like him? He had an actual job and his relatives to constantly take care of. If he ever got married, it'd be to some mature and stern woman like one of the church nuns Holly saw occasionally when she rode into town, not to someone as flamboyant and wild as her. 

After dinner, Holly retired to her room and started getting ready for bed, looking at herself in the mirror. She ran her hands along her braid as she very slowly undid it, letting her distinctly pink-blonde hair fall to her waist. Some people compared her to a Sulla child when she was very young purely because of her hair and her vibrant blue-purple eyes that shimmered especially in dim light. Her parents would smile and reassure the person in question that Holly was genuinely their child, she just looked unique. As she got older people assumed she was Sulla due to her wild and rambunctious nature that was decidedly different from Vicky's. Vicky liked to get drunk and make alcohol, but at least she was a waitress and never tried to be anything else. She knew her place. 

She yanked on her braid hard and gasped in pain as the rest of it all came undone. "I don't need a place...Vicky is just my cousin and Big Brother is useless. That is my place..." Holly said to herself. She slipped on a nightgown and stood on her tiptoes, enjoying the way the nightgown swished around her figure before she properly tucked herself into bed.


	2. Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holly finally goes on her date with Barris after being dressed up; to nobody's surprise, it fails. That night, Zoe gets conscripted to fight against the Sulla despite not being in the best condition, and determined, Holly makes up her mind to go in his place.

Holly was up before anyone else and convinced one of the servants to make her buttery toast that she popped into her mouth and headed off towards the stables again, wearing a plain green day-dress with her hair braided again. The braid was as tight as she had the patience for. 

"Carrot Rice!" She called out, hearing the pleased neigh of her mare. She smiled and shoved the rest of the toast into her mouth, wiping the butter residue away with the back of her hand as she saddled Carrot Rice up again. "Have you been a good girl? I bet you missed me, huh?" 

Carrot Rice simply neighed, but Holly smiled anyway. She rode astride and winced slightly as she heard a slight ripping sound, but figured it'd be fine since it was an older dress of hers she was specifically wearing. She rode Carrot Rice out of the stable and into the forest again, smiling. The water splashed them as usual and the wind had picked up, so Holly sat up straighter on her mare and pulled out her braid, feeling her hair wildly whip around her and get in her face. She rode her mare harder through the forest, spinning up many leaves of green that swirled around them. Holly slowed down a bit and managed to pluck one out of the air, looking at it. "Still green..." She tossed it away and continued riding, leaving the forest and riding through green pastures. She stopped at the top of a hill, looking down and seeing the town just beyond the drop. She could turn back and ride through the forest again, or ride through the town. She turned her nose up at the thought of potentially running into a family member of hers, so she turned Carrot Rice around and rode through the forest again, stirring up more leaves; a few getting stuck in her tangled hair this time. 

She wondered if she resembled one of those woodland sprites from one of Nyx's books of fairy tales, the ones with long unkempt hair with leaves or flowers woven in who wore matching slips of petals and grass. Those were very feminine despite their more wild sides. Why couldn't Holly be more like that? 

She then thought about her future dinner with Barris that night and how much her parents were counting on her. Barris was the most boring man she had ever met in her entire life, but they were right. He had a small amount of patience and came from a prominent family. If she managed to impress him, her family would be proud of her. They'd finally get off her back, and she supposed Barris wasn't the absolute _worst_ person to be married to. 

Holly then rode into town, looking around for a bookstore or penmanship shop. If she wanted to get on Barris' good side, she had to actually show she had knowledge of what he was talking about. Of course, she had no time nor patience to properly read several thick volumes of boring law and judicial textbooks, but there was nothing saying she couldn't write down the highlights, right? Just some innocent note-taking. 

After finding a bookshop, she carefully slipped off Carrot Rice and tied her up outside, going inside. 

"My lady, you look a fright!" The shopkeeper gasped in surprise upon seeing Holly, but she waved them away. 

"Do you have any pens or ink quills? Preferably hard to remove ones?" She asked quickly. 

"A new shipment of pens came in, but whatever do you need them for? Shouldn't I be giving this to your father?" 

"Pay for it in his name," Holly carefully held the wrapped-up box of pens, looking them over. She'd only need one, she could give the rest to Balfey maybe. After the shopkeeper wrote down the information, Holly pointed to another shelf. "I also need the first three volumes of a law book," 

"Oh, you want to impress Sir Barris Sakan?" The shopkeeper asked in a bit of a teasing voice. "Or are you giving them to him as a present? If so, he's a very lucky man to have a maiden like you!" 

Holly resisted the urge to stick out her tongue at the shopkeeper in disgust, though just barely. 

"Here you are," The shopkeeper handed Holly the books and once the payment was completed, Holly took off running and untied Carrot Rice, riding out to the pastures again. She sat down in the grass and uncapped one of the pens, squinting at the small intellectual text and slowly making notes of anything she found particularly interesting or important. She had nothing to write on properly, hence why she wanted strong, semi-permanent ink, so she could make the notes on her arm. 

By the time the afternoon rolled around, she had both arms filled with tiny notes about judicial law and how it affected the military and soldiers, which Holly found to be the most interesting. She covered her arms up to the best of her ability with her mid-length sleeves and capped the pen, closing the books and putting everything away in the boxes they arrived in. She then rode Carrot Rice back to the mansion, gently putting her back and heading inside, knowing if she wanted to make a good impression on Barris, she'd arrive as early as she possibly could, and that meant getting through her beauty regime as quickly as possible. 

"I'm here!" She announced to her parents in the parlor. 

"There you are indeed," Zoe said, shaking his head in amusement at his daughter's appearance. 

"Oh goodness, you're a mess, what happened to you?" Christie asked in surprise, walking over instantly and trying to pull out the leaves in Holly's hair. "Were you out riding?" 

"Obviously," Holly pouted. 

"We're going to have to make you look graceful for Sir Barris tonight," Christie said. "We already have your outfit ready though, so you just need to put it on after your bath," She took Holly's arm and led her upstairs to the expansive bathroom, running the hot water and slowly stripping Holly, pulling the leaves out of her hair and pushing her into the tub. 

"It's so hot! It'll burn my skin off!" Holly gasped in surprise, surfacing from the water. 

"Anything for beauty," Vicky chirped, walking in. "I get to help you today, dear Cousin!" 

Holly just sighed. At the very least, the beautification process wouldn't be too bad. She'd never admit it, but she did like getting dolled up sometimes in lavender silks and old-fashioned lace gloves. However, she liked to add her own bit of style to her outfits with gaudy jewelry which was what made so many people turn their noses up at her. 

"Holly, what are these?" Christie asked suddenly, pointing to the ink on Holly's arms. 

"Conversation topics, so that boring judge doesn't spend the whole night just rambling to himself," She answered with a sigh. "Just don't wash them off, okay?" 

Christie sighed as well but still obliged, washing Holly's hair and pouring lavender oils into it to make her smell good. 

After her bath, she got laced into a simple corset and bloomers with a white slip on top, knowing then it was time to put the actual dress on. Christie had chosen a light pink evening gown for her with a shorter skirt than expected; a bit above her ankles, trimmed with pure white lace. Her bodice was decorated with pink fake flowers. The cut was a fashionable V-neck that was still tastefully high. The skirt opened up slightly to reveal more white lace underneath. 

"Does it _have_ to be pink?" Holly asked as she slipped her pink heels on; only two inches high and decorated with the same flowers as were on her bodice. Perfect for dancing, which she unfortunately would _not_ be doing. "Why not purple?" 

"Pink is the Sakan family colour, so it'd be honorable to wear it while dining with one of their members," Christie explained nicely. "Pink and purple look very nice together, you know," 

Vicky carefully did Holly's hair next, slowly and gently as she always did when they were younger, but this time it retained an air of grace and professionalism. Instead of simply braiding it, she put it up in a fancy bun, emphasizing Holly's natural curls that were in fashion, before topping it off with a pink headband adorned with a jewel and a large purple feather. She then added the faintest bit of pink rogue and lipstick to Holly's cheeks and lips, bringing out her natural colours. 

"Oh! I almost forgot! I got some of this from shopping earlier. It's really popular!" Vicky said, pulling out a small beige tube. 

"What's in it?" Holly asked curiously. Instead of answering, Vicky pulled out a black wand with small feathers at the end, moving closer. 

"Close your eyes," She gently brushed Holly's eyelashes with the wand. "Mascara. It makes your eyelashes bigger and more noticeable," She then held out a small mirror and Holly stared at her reflection in curiosity. She had never been one for makeup at all, but the mascara looked pretty on her, she had to admit. She tugged a smaller curl of hers loose and let it hang from her bun slightly. 

Christie then slipped long white opera gloves on Holly, also giving her a matching set of pink earrings and a long necklace made of sparkly but gaudy jewels. 

"There, you look beautiful. Perfectly suitable for meeting your future husband," She teased. 

"I'm not getting married to him! It's just one simple dinner," Holly insisted in annoyance. "I look like I'm going out dancing," She wished she could, dancing would be more fun and a better show of character than some stuffy date. 

"My little girl is growing up and getting married! It's a dream come true!" 

Holly carefully walked down the stairs, awkwardly curtsying when she saw Zoe. 

"You really do look beautiful," He praised. "I just want you to make our family proud. Everything is up to you," 

"I know," Holly nodded solemnly. It had always been up to her, ever since Balfey decided he was much more suited for business and failed majorly at that, and couldn't get himself married off fast enough either. It was all up to her. She could do this, even if she didn't want to. For nobody else but her dad. 

"And Barris isn't the worst man you could be with. He's nothing like his flighty playboy brother. He's grounded and realistic. There's an age difference, but it matters little. He'll be a good man for you," He took Holly's hands and gave her a quick hug. 

She said nothing but nodded, trying to resign herself to a quiet night. A knock sounded on the door and she stood up straight as Christie hurried downstairs. 

"You almost forgot your fan!" She handed her a pink feathery one. "The most important part of any girl's look. It's nice to know they haven't completely died out," 

Holly closed the fan and held it closely in her hands and strode over to the Sakan servant who had arrived to fetch her. 

"Lady Olineaux," He bowed and led her to the carriage where Barris was sitting, poring over a book. She carefully got in and placed her closed fan in her lap, studying him. 

It was rude to just start a conversation outright, but how else were they meant to get to know each other? She couldn't read minds. 

"Sir Sakan, hello," She attempted as the carriage began to move. 

He said nothing. 

"Did you pick a good place for us to eat at? I really like vegetables, so I'd like a more foreign place to eat at. Preferably a place I can get pilaf at," 

"It's a local Finsel place. There's no reason to get overly fancy," Barris said, not looking up from his book. 

Perfect. Bland meat and watery broth and weak spirits. 

Holly sunk down in her seat. 

()()()()()()()()()

Once they arrived at the restaurant, they were quickly seated and given water and bread as a palette cleanser as they looked over the menus. As Holly expected, none of it looked particularly appetizing to her, but she needed to make a good impression. What woman cared what she put into her mouth? A proper lady ate little and even less so in the company of men. It was unseemly. Holly suddenly thought of the myth from Hondo of women who turned into cats in the night; she read about them in a book of Hondo legends she and Nyx read once. The book went on to say the myth likely came about from men waking up and finding their lady-of-the-night eating quickly, hiding it in her hands because women weren't supposed to eat in front of men. Holly related a lot to that. Maybe she truly _was_ a Sulla, a naughty Sulla girl who ate far more than her fill and needed milk put out every night for her. 

"I think we will both get the meatloaf," Barris spoke up, his book on the table but thankfully closed. Holly saw her chance for actual conversation and took it. 

"Meatloaf? How about bangers and mash?" She offered as sweetly as she could possibly muster, which wasn't much at all.

"I don't like mashed potatoes," Barris said, and placed the order for them. Holly nearly slammed her face into the table in distress. 

"A lawyer, I hear. How is that line of work treating you?" She quickly asked, placing her hands in her lap. Barris lifted an eyebrow in curiosity, but relayed some information to her about some of his recent cases. "I see...and if the opposing party has an issue with another party, they can take them to court by.." She subtly lowered her glove, wincing at the smudged and faded writing there. "Gluing them," 

"Excuse me?" 

Holly quickly looked again. "Suing them! Right?" She pulled open her fan and slowly fanned herself. 

"Yes..." Barris continued talking on the subject, leaving a few spaces for Holly to interject when she saw fit, trying to secretly decipher the ruined notes on her arms as subtly as possible. Once their food arrived, Barris quieted down slightly, instead asking Holly for her own thoughts on Finsel's law. She giggled and rubbed at her arms. 

"Well....I feel like a lot of the laws can be unfair in some areas...like how women can't fight in the forces...what is the point of it?" She offered quickly. "I mean...my cousin would make a lovely knight, don't you think so?" 

"I see little point in having women join the forces outright. My niece is an adventurer and she's never brought up wanting to fight," Barris said calmly.

"Uh.." She tried racking her brains for something else to say, drinking more of her beer. 

"Most women in the forces would be more of an annoyance. They have enough laws protecting them as is, they don't need to go out and risk their lives," 

"Maybe some women would like to go out and fight," Holly fanned herself some more. "Like if there's a national conscription and the daughter has no brothers or no father, who could fight and represent her family?" 

"Surely every family has some male relative who's able-bodied enough," Barris started flipping through his book again. 

"Well, what if that girl had a father who hasn't fought with an actual sword in years or a useless older brother who would die the instant he saw a battle encampment?" 

"The brother or father would have to go," 

"But what if they _couldn't_?" Holly emphasized, staring at him from under her fan. "What if they genuinely couldn't? They'd get in trouble because of the law,"

"That's just the way things are," 

"What if Barbara wanted to go out to war dressed as a boy? Would you really stop her?" She didn't use any sort of title with Barbara; she was close enough to her in both age and status where it wouldn't matter. 

"Guilty," Barris wrote something down in his book. Holly snapped her fan closed and yanked her gloves up, smudging the writing even more. 

"You'd let your own niece die because of some stupid, outdated rule?!" She demanded hotly, standing up. 

"I never said that-" 

"But you inferred it! You want women to die for their so-called selfish beliefs, don't you? I thought your boring job was going to be the worst thing about you, but I was absolutely wrong!" She grabbed her glass of beer. "And you want to get married to me?" 

"I specifically chose you as I felt your wit was worthy to stand against mine. I figured the maturity and quietness would come later or at least be taught, but I suppose I was wrong there too," He closed his book and stood up as well. "Goodbye then, Lady Olineaux. I wish you well in your future romantic endeavors," 

"Screw you! You're just a boring, unattractive, dusty old man! I'm glad I'm not getting married to you!" Holly chucked the beer out at Barris, missing completely and splashing it on the floor, but she cared little. Several people stared at her and started whispering, but she cared even less about that. She grabbed her fan and stormed off, getting into the carriage and sulking the whole way home. Barris evidently opted to just walk home himself, or maybe he had another carriage lined up, Holly didn't know and didn't care. 

Once she got back home, she had calmed down sufficiently enough to reflect on her actions and realized in horror what she had done. She had blown up at the one man who was willing to give her a chance, even attempted to throw her drink at him, became the gossip of that particular restaurant, and all for nothing. Her failure would be noted once again and any other eligible young men would suddenly find themselves busy or unable to be wed. It was all her fault. She didn't care about actually getting married, she'd go her whole life without getting married if she could manage it, but her father wished for it to happen. She never wanted to let her father down, the one man who seemed proud of her no matter what she did. 

She started to head inside when she heard familiar voices in the parlor, freezing and listening in. 

"A servant came with a notice from Sir Barris," Christie explained in a slightly-sad tone. "He handled her rejection well, but..." 

"He was the last one who was willing to give her a chance," Zoe sighed. "I love her, but she has too much wild blood in her. What will we do now? What will she do now?" 

Holly stepped back from the door and walked off, not wanting to hear anymore. Even Zoe was disappointed in her.... 

She went out to her family's personal garden; it was small but filled with nice flowers and enough space for one to spar if they so wished. She sighed a bit and looked at her reflection in the water briefly before she walked on. What separated her from the flowery bunches in the very garden? She was dressed in rose pink and bathed in lavender. She carefully undid her bun and let her hair fall down to her back and tossed away the headband. She then pulled off her necklace and earrings, finally sitting down in her family's gazebo. It wasn't much of a difference, but it made enough of a difference to matter to Holly. 

"I expected you to be out riding on Carrot Rice," Zoe teased her lightly, walking over to her. Holly said nothing, looking away from him. "You know, holly is a highly dangerous plant. It's poisonous, yet it's used for such festive and cheery decorations once a year," 

Holly finally looked over at him. "And?" 

"Your mom thought it'd be a perfect name for someone like you. Even as a child, you had such an inner fire," Zoe continued. "Much like the plant, you just need the right time to be festive and appreciated," He handed her fan back, gently placing it in her lap. "And the winter is when holly is the prettiest. The berries ripen into distinct red shapes, and placed against the dark green of the leaves...it's no wonder it's become associated with Christmas cheer," 

She smiled a bit at that. When she was younger, she always liked to decorate every place in the house she could reach with little holly sprigs purely because they had the same name as her. Zoe and Christie would see and jokingly say 'a holly among the hollies!' 

"My lord, you should head to the town square," A servant walked over with an urgent expression on their face. 

"What is it? There's nothing that could be so important you can't tell me it here," Zoe demanded. 

"Just trust me," The servant lead Zoe away, making Holly frown. She followed after him, easily blending into the crowd despite her fanciful appearance. She widened her eyes as she saw the signature black flags decorated with golden emblems; a sign belonging to the ruling family Bavlenka. What could the Grand Duke possibly want? She hid her face partially using her fan and tried to listen in. 

"The War on Sulla has cost us many causalities here in Finsel, causalities we did not expect. Yet the war continues to rage on, and having exhausted our allies all across the various seas of reinforcements, we have now decided to ask for the citizens of Finsel to take up the arms in order to protect their nation and their Grand Duke. One man from every family will be conscripted," The soldier read out. 

"One man...?" Holly wondered to herself. 

"The Jorcastle Family!" The soldier announced, and a flamboyant blond man stood up and was handed a slip of paper. 

"I'll go in the places of both my father and my older brother," He said. "I'm not much for fighting, but.." 

"A wise choice. The Olineaux Family!" The soldier continued.

"No!" Holly loudly gasped, pushing through the crowd and rushing over to the soldier, spooking his horse and nearly making it rear. "No, Dad!" 

"What are you doing out here?" Christie asked in surprise. 

"Holly-!" Zoe called out before the soldier pushed her aside. 

"You'd do well to control your daughter better! She shouldn't speak out of turn!" He grumbled. "I expected far better from the Olineaux Head, but I suppose I was wrong. You are just as dysfunctional and eccentric as the other families," He then continued to list off names. 

"Dad-!" Holly still tried before Zoe silenced her. 

"There are times when you should be silent, Holly," He scolded, and Holly huffed and hurried back inside the house. 

She worked at her sampler for hours in irritation, mainly knotting the thread up and having to redo everything, but it felt cathartic to her for once. Eventually she lost track of what she was even supposed to be doing as she just poked the needle in different squares several different times before she finally grew bored. Putting her sampler away, she replaced her heels with more sensible boots and put her hair in a low ponytail before she went downstairs to see if dinner was ready. 

As Holly walked, she spied a sliver of light peering out from her dad's study and grew curious, crouching down to hide her figure better and peeking inside. 

Despite the name, her father's study was less about books and more about physical education; he kept many practice swords and weights around to ensure he'd still be in the best physical shape. She saw Balfey sitting at the desk, reading a book, which wasn't surprising to her. What did end up surprising her was Zoe holding a sword, practicing on a wooden dummy. Her father boasted about being a warrior in his youth, but not a knight; that honor was given to the Grand Duke despite Zoe being raised purely as a knight. She smiled a bit to herself, watching him practice. She had unknowingly copied some of his moves from him as she was growing up and pretended to sword-fight as she did her dancing lessons. 

Zoe kept a steady stance, spun around with the sword, tried to run and dive the weapon into the dummy's chest, only to misstep and lose his balance, falling on the ground loudly. The sword clattered and Balfey gasped. 

"Father!" He hurried over to the best of his ability. "What happened?!" 

"The carpet...must've tripped me up," Zoe laughed weakly, managing to pull himself into a sitting position. Holly covered her mouth so her own gasp wouldn't be audible. 

"You're old, Father," 

"Thank you for your kind words," Zoe's face hardened slightly as he stood up. 

"You know, that soldier said it was only one man from every family. And Jorcastle's second son went in his father's and brother's place. I could-" 

"Not a chance. You may be useless, but you are still my heir. I won't risk anything happening to you," 

"This would be the best way to stop being such a laughingstock! If I come back with a medal-!" 

"I said no. I am going and that's final," Zoe slowly picked his sword up and subtly winced. "I may not be the picture of youth anymore, but that matters little. Men older than me will be there," 

Holly quietly stepped away, heading downstairs and resigning herself to just acting like she hadn't heard a thing. It was thankfully time for dinner, so she took her seat among her other family members. 

"Uncle Zoe got conscripted to fight the Sulla!" Vicky gushed as they ate. It was rice pilaf, but Holly could only pick at it. "Isn't that exciting?" 

"He might come back a decorated war hero. Then our family will be considered the finest in the whole nation!" Balfey exclaimed. "Well worth it in my opinion. We're a family with knighthood in our bloods, so it's time we showed our military prowess!" 

Holly loudly stabbed her food with her fork. "Dad shouldn't have to go! He's not as young as he used to be! He could get seriously sick or injured!" 

"Holly!" Zoe scolded suddenly, making her freeze. "It's my job as this family's head to serve my nation and the Grand Duke. That's my role in life and I intend to fulfill it no matter what," 

"But Dad-" She cut herself off, not wanting to admit she had seen him fall while trying to practice earlier. "It's been so long since you've seen battle," She said instead. 

"I will be fine. I was brought up as a knight and fought as a warrior," Zoe reassured her, and Holly took her seat again and continued picking at her food. Vicky and Balfey just talked with each other about business, but Holly could tell she had ruined the mood. She didn't care. She was right, Zoe would never last long enough in war. It had changed way too much from when he was younger. Balfey wouldn't even last a day in camp, let alone the actual battlefield. Vicky wasn't even a choice in this. But what could she do about it? 

It dawned on her, and she waited until nightfall to enact her plan. She could learn how to fight well enough, she was interested in the studies and played war all the time as a child. She'd disguise herself as her father's second son and go in his place. She'd protect the family and serve the Grand Duke and become a war hero. Then she'd finally have a purpose. 

()()()()()()()()()()

It had started raining heavily once dinner was over and Holly remained in her room, waiting for the remainder of her family to go to bed. She mentally prepared herself one final time and snuck into her dad's study, pulling out the silver sword from its plain sheath, staring at her reflection in it. A fancy girl with long hair. With a wince, she pulled her braid over her shoulder and slid the sword through it, gasping at the slice and feeling the weight being lifted from her head. The result was choppier than she would've liked, but somehow it suited her. The new style slightly touched her collar. 

She tossed the strands away and buttoned herself into Zoe's grey shirt and pants with boots and a trenchcoat, tugging the hat on over her head. The clothes were baggy on her as they were made for someone with more muscles, but the trenchcoat hid the worst of it and she knew she'd have to make do anyway. She wrapped the sword and a pistol around her waist and tugged on the gloves, her features illuminated by the sudden flash of lighting in the window. She had a smaller pack by her side as well that she managed to fill with some provisions and extra clothing. She had no clue what to be prepared for so she just assumed to prepare for everything. 

Holly then slipped into her parents' room, smiling lightly at seeing Zoe and Christie snuggled up close to each other. She took the conscription notice from Zoe's nightstand and replaced it with her closed pink fan, then stepped out into the night. The rain came down harder and her boots sunk awkwardly into the mud as she pulled open the stable doors. 

"Carrot Rice! Carrot Rice!" She whispered, gasping at her horse trying to rear. "No, no! It's me! It's Holly!" She held out her hands and gently petted her nose, calming her down. "It's me...I'm going to look like this for a while now, okay?" She got down the reins and gently saddled Carrot Rice up before riding her out of the stables, riding as quickly as she dared in the storm. Her clothes had already gotten damp from the rainwater. "I'm supposed to report to the camp by tomorrow morning...so let's go!" 

()()()()()()()()()

Back at the house, one of the servants quickly woke up Zoe and Christie in a panic, talking about how one of the horses had been stolen. 

"A horse was stolen?" Christie asked in disbelief. "Which one?" 

"Lady Holly's," The servant answered, making Zoe quickly climb out of bed. 

"Holly?" He looked at the nightstand and saw her fan there and his eyes widened. 

"Oh, you don't think-?" Christie gasped. 

"I _do_ think," Zoe took off running, heading outside in the heavy rain and noticing the manor's gates had been left open. "Holly!" He called out, already knowing it was fruitless. She would likely be by the camp by that morning if she intended to ride all night, and knowing her, she likely took some sort of shortcut to prevent him from catching her easily. He slipped on some mud and promptly fell down, the fan falling out of his hands. 

"Zoe!" Christie hurried by his side, trying to help him up. "We should go after her," 

"If we reveal her, she could get exiled or even killed," 

She covered her mouth in horror. 

"What happened?" Balfey asked, hearing the commotion and coming to the door. Just behind him was Vicky with a curious expression on her face. 

"Go back inside!" Zoe snapped as he was slowly lifted to his feet by Christie. 

"Oh, I just hope she'll be alright," Christie said to herself, gently picking the fan back up. It had gotten muddy. "Please let her be alright,"


	3. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holly renames herself Hugh and also meets the acquaintance of a Sulla girl named Magda. Despite managing to fool everyone, Hugh quickly learns the grueling training regime and pressure isn't for everyone, and tries her hardest to adapt so she won't be sent home.

Holly sighed to herself as she stared just down the hill at the training camp, filled with people who might inadvertently expose her if she didn't do everything correctly. She paced around near Carrot Rice for what seemed to be the hundredth time; her shoes sunk slightly in her grooves. 

"For once I admit I'm in over my head....I can't do this," Her voice was gender-neutral enough, but what about her name or small figure? She had no hope of hiding anything like that. "Maybe...I need some help. I refuse to go back to Dad though. It's what he wants for me to do," She collapsed on the ground and hid her face in her hands. 

"Hello...?" A small voice rang out in the air, making Holly flinch and reach for her sword. She attempted to unsheathe it, only to gasp as it easily slipped out of her hands. 

"Damn it...I can still fight you! Show yourself!" She spun around, hearing the small sound of bells. 

"Here I am...I'm sorry to scare you," A flashing white light appeared in front of her suddenly; she blinked and quickly stepped back from it. Once the light faded, it revealed a tiny girl, no taller than one's finger, hovering with the use of silky white wings parted into four sections like those of a dragonfly's. She wore a simple gown made from various flower petals. Her most striking feature, however, were her vivid blue eyes. Holly suddenly felt as though she were bewitched, even as the creature glanced away. 

"Who are you?" She demanded, managing to snap out of it. She picked her sword back up and slowly resheathed it. 

"You can call me Magda. I heard your distress and I'm here to grant your wish! I'll help you win this war and go back to your family!" She said in a determined tone. 

"A Sulla wants to help me?" 

"We're not all mean..." Magda pouted a bit at that and flew closer. "And I'm smaller than most Sulla. I can sneak around, learn things they can't. I'll be useful," 

Holly thought about it, starting to believe she was still asleep somehow. Why did this fairy want to help her? What was in it for her? One must never listen to the words of a fairy. 

"Why do you want to help me?" Holly eventually asked, staring down the small creature. 

"I'm a good person," Magda said. Holly rolled her eyes. 

"Fine. But you're stupid if you think I'm trusting you that easily!" She took Carrot Rice's reins and walked her over to a nearby tree, loosely tying her up. She took another look at the camp and sighed. "Still, I don't have any other choices...so you better be good at what you're saying!" 

Magda nodded a bit nervously, disappearing into Holly's cap. She held her head up high and kept her hands at her sides and walked right into the camp, already rolling her eyes at some of the sights. 

"Ugh, guys are so gross! And I was expected to marry one of them?" She huffed quietly to herself. Magda peeked out from under her hat. 

"Did you say something?" A blond man strode up to her, wearing the same plain uniform as her with his long hair tied back. "Little mouse?" 

Holly stuck her tongue out at him. "Playboy! I don't want anything to do with you!" She took off running, not looking back until she collided with another group of people. She fell flat on her back and winced, looking up to see the blond man staring at her. 

"Mice aren't known for their speed. Why'd you take off running like that?" He tried to help her up, but Holly slapped his hand away and stood up herself, adjusting her hat. 

"Because! I wasn't going to deal with a playboy like you!" She subtly glanced up at Magda, who motioned to her mouth. Unsure of what to do, Holly stuck her own finger down her throat and loudly burped. "See? I'm just as much a man as you are!" 

"Making friends already, Juven?" Another blond man walked over, his face sporting some light makeup. Holly stared curiously. "Never took you for a friendly socializer," 

"Lay off it, Gonzalo! I spotted someone in need of my help and thus I tried to help him," Juven commented. 

"And here I thought you only helped women," 

Holly dashed off again, leaving them to argue. She didn't really recognize them and hoped they wouldn't be spending a lot of time together. She kept running, still not looking where she was going until she suddenly gasped in pain from a collision and toppled to the ground, spilling hot water and sticky noodles on her front. 

"Yuck..." She groaned in pain, rolling over and realizing she knocked over a giant pot of cooking pasta, which was likely going to be some kind of meal for them. So much pasta on the ground...

She groaned again and covered her face in her hands. "Oh God..." 

"Hey, that kid ruined our meal!" Someone called out, making Holly gasp and quickly jump back up to her feet, trying to run off again. Maybe if she was quick enough, she could just hop back onto her horse and find some other training camp. Surely this couldn't have been the only one around, right? 

"Spilled our food? That wasn't nice," A voice nearly scolded, grabbing Holly from the back of her coat and yanking her off the ground. She looked back and recognized the stranger's pointed ears first. "Normally I don't care about things like that, and I'm feeling generous today, so..." 

Holly waited in anticipation before he suddenly cocked his fist back and punched her square in the stomach, making her cough out and nearly swoon. He tossed her on the ground, leaving her to cough up spit. 

"Name's Willow, don't forget it," Despite the threat, he said it in such a cheerful, carefree way Holly almost wished he wouldn't come back and give her a beating later. 

Willow....that name sounded familiar to her. Wasn't he a servant? Why was he here in the war? Maybe he just volunteered, that was a possibility though not as common due to newer conscription laws. She then began to ponder if he'd be considered too old to join or if Elves were graded on some other age scale tailored to fit their own needs. 

"Soldiers! Today is a good day to start working on your t-" 

"Why are these noodles spilled out everywhere?" 

"He did it," Willow's voice reached her swimming consciousness and she slowly sat up, coughing again before she instantly balked at the sight of the general's secretary. 

"Care to explain yourself?" Barris asked. "Did you really think roughhousing on your first day in camp was a good idea?" 

"Guilty," Holly snapped as she slowly stood up, feeling woozy from the punch. 

Of all the possible annoyances....she could only hope and pray he didn't recognize her under her disguise. Otherwise she'd be revealed in front of everyone and kicked out in under an hour. 

"May I please see your conscription notice?" The second man spoke, and Holly took notice of the fact he was tall and blond with a glittering aura to him. She subtly rolled her eyes. Glittering knight, indeed! 

"Of course ya can! Need proof of my roughhousing nature?" She pulled it out of her pack and handed it to him. 

"Zoe Olineaux... _the_ Zoe Olineaux? The famous warrior and current head of the Olineaux family?" Barbalius read out in surprise. Several other men widened their eyes in surprise. "Not much of a country bumpkin, are you?" 

"I never said I was a country bumpkin!" Holly protested hotly. 

"Zoe Olineaux? He never mentioned having a second son," Barris cut in, eyeing her carefully. She felt Magda flutter under her hat and awkwardly played with her hair. 

"Well, he's got a second son! Since he's already got one though, he never makes much mention of me. But I'm a thousand percent man, I promise you that!" She snorted and coughed, managing to cough up a loogie and spat it onto the ground, slowly wiping her mouth afterwards. 

"I don't see much resemblance," Barris decided, leading to several giggles.

"And your name?" Barbalius asked, making Holly's heart stop. What could she possibly say? Her name was not girly at all, not in the slightest. 

"Um...it's..." She tried racking her brains for a possible substitute. 

"Gonzalo?" Magda whispered into her ear, making her shake her head. 

"No way," 

"Um....Alexander?" 

"Too pompous," 

"Tongue-tied?" Barbalius teased, making Holly's face burn. 

"No way! My name is...uh..." 

"Hugh?" Magda suggested. 

"Hugh!" She blurted out. "I'm Hugh Olineaux!" 

"Hugh Olineaux, huh? What a nice, noble name. Fitting for the son of a knight family," Barbalius nodded his approval and Holly awkwardly stepped back into line. 

She liked the name too; she had no idea how Magda came up with it but it was perfect-sounding. It meant heart and strength, which she definitely needed to build up a lot of if she was ever going to survive this war. It was also the name of many old-fashioned knights that participated in the medieval practice of chivalry, something she knew Zoe ingrained in her, Balfey, and Vicky despite her and Vicky's gender. Zoe wanted the three of them to be good, pious, and put others before themselves, lessons he thought were good for anyone to learn, not just men. Thus, a fitting name for her. 

Perhaps it would be best if even Holly herself grew more comfortable with being referred to as such by referring to herself even in her own mind as Hugh. That way it'd limit potential outbursts of surprise when being addressed that could blow her cover in some way. So from that moment on, she decided she'd start calling herself Hugh. 

"How about everyone spends the rest of their day cleaning up all of these noodles?" Barris suggested, poring over a book in his hand. 

"Good idea, it'll help their companionship as well," Barbalius agreed, and the two men walked off. Several eyes instantly glared at Hugh, making her stare right back. 

"What about it? I just tripped and fell into it! Stop glaring at me!" She rolled her eyes and glanced down at the mess, thinking it wasn't even that big of a deal. Still, she hadn't planned on actually picking anything up. She dropped to her knees and very slowly started peeling some noodles off the grass, turning her nose up in disgust. "Hell am I even supposed to do with these? Toss them back into the pot?" 

"I hope not, I don't want to eat those," Gonzalo sighed daintily. Hugh shot him a glare. 

"Why not? A bit of protein is good for prima-donnas like you," She snapped, not taking her eyes off Gonzalo as she flicked her hands and tossed the noodles into the pot. 

"Picking fights already?" A man from nearby shouted, but Hugh ignored them. 

Hugh went back to cleaning the noodles up; she received little help when Barbalius didn't come by to study them for a few seconds before leaving again. Her fingers ached from constantly flicking them into the pot and her legs and back hurt from constantly crawling around on the ground looking for noodles. After the work was done, she sighed and nearly collapsed on top of the pot again. 

"H-Hey, are you alright?" A nicer voice reached her ears and she slowly looked up and felt her face burn at the sight of a short and lanky boy dressed in blue-tinted clothes. "Hugh?" 

"Yeah, I'm absolutely fine," She quickly pulled herself off the pot and tried to dust her clothing off, realizing a guy likely wouldn't do that and stopping herself mid-dust. "Hugh's my name, but what's yours?" She jokingly slugged him in the elbow, making him laugh nervously and rub it. 

"Alan," 

"Alan," She repeated. A nice, simple name. Not overly complex or pompous. She liked that, she realized. 

"Y-Yeah...want me to show you to your cabin? You probably have stuff you need to put away," He motioned to the pack still on her shoulder and her eyes widened as she grabbed the strap of it. Somehow, it survived despite all that commotion. 

"If ya want. Hey, does it have a deck? Like a fancy one with a rail? If so, you want to spit off the side of it?" She asked eagerly. 

"No thank you," Alan laughed awkwardly and the two walked off together. 

The camp itself wasn't very big; just a mess hall, training area with a shooting range, and several cabins set out for the soldiers. Hugh managed to walk up the steps before she froze. 

"Hey, we ain't sharing with anyone, right? A man like me needs his privacy!" She laughed off. 

"It depends. I think some are sharing and some are singular," 

_Please let me be alone, please let me be alone,_ Hugh silently prayed to herself as she pulled open the door. 

The cabin was cramped and only contained a small cot, oil lamp, and a tiny desk likely for writing letters. She sighed and rolled her eyes at the sight of it, tossing her bag on the cot. She saw no other cots and was thankful she had the room to herself. 

"I'll let you get settled. Tomorrow is training," Alan said with the first pure joy she heard in his voice, making her smile. He must've been a typical soldier boy. Once he closed the door, she flopped down on her cot. 

"God, what did I get myself into?" She moaned. Magda nudged out of her hat and started flying around the cabin, looking at everything in amazement. 

"You have me, you won't fail," Magda said in a serious tone, flying back over. "I was given to you to fulfill your wish," 

"Well, tell me everything you know about this sort of thing!" 

"I don't know anything, this is my first war," 

"That makes sense. I mean, a fairy as lovely as you would never dirty herself with thoughts of violent fighting," Hugh teased, making Magda flit around in embarrassment. She pulled her hat and trenchcoat off, leaving them on top of her bag, figuring they'd be cumbersome during training but she'd likely need them on the actual battlefield. She took her pistol off her belt and eyed it curiously, handling it like glass. "You think I'll ever get to shoot this? I never even knew Dad owned a gun," 

Magda just shrugged her uncertainty. She flew a bit closer. 

She slowly laid the pistol down on top of her clothing and took off her sword, placing that on top of everything else. It was a meager pile but it belonged to her and she was proud of it. 

"Maybe we could look around camp some more," Magda suggested, resting on Hugh's shoulder. 

"I think we saw everything. And I'd rather not run the risk of running into one of those annoying guys again," She rolled her eyes. 

"The training grounds?" She pressed, and Hugh sighed. 

"Fine. Only because they have a shooting range. I gotta learn how to shoot that gun properly, right?" She left her things in her cabin and walked out, not seeing much bustle of the other soldiers. That made sense, they must've still been getting settled. 

The training area was bigger than she first thought; a running course, obstacle area, and shooting range. She jumped in place slightly, suddenly feeling giddy about running around and climbing, things she had no clue she even missed. 

Still, there was something else necessary that she hadn't seen a single sight of since arriving, something she realized she suddenly needed. 

"Surely they have a latrine around here somewhere," Hugh whispered to herself, attracting the attention of Magda, who flew over. 

"A what?" 

"You don't know what a latrine is? It's a super gross bathroom but Dad said they're common in wartime camps," 

Magda just tilted her head. 

"It's a place where you piss!" She yelled, evidently too loudly as someone stopped walking and looked over at her. 

"You have to go too? I'll show you where it is," The man said, prompting Magda to fly under Hugh's hat in a hurry. She shoved it back onto her head right when the man walked up. It wasn't anyone she recognized, thankfully. "Obviously we have one of those," 

"I figured, what kind of a training camp wouldn't have a latrine?" She put her hands on her hips and followed after the guy, anxiously trying to match his stride. It made her legs wobble and her heels hurt but she kept at it. She knew she needed to look more natural when she walked. 

"Here we are," The guy pointed and Hugh reached the top of the hill only to instantly balk and nearly turn pale. 

They indeed had a latrine, but it wasn't the enclosed sort she had been hoping for; instead, it was essentially an open garbage pit. Several guys were in the middle of using it, which she quickly averted her eyes at. She didn't need to see that. 

"I don't have to go anymore," She whispered to herself. 

"What?" The guy eyed her carefully, making her glare and take off running. 

"I said I don't have to go anymore! Go shove it!" She yelled back as she ran. She ran up the stairs to her cabin and slammed shut the door, collapsing against it. "I can't do this..." 

Magda flew around the room again, perching on top of the unlit lamp.

"But I can't go home now. I have to do this for Dad," Hugh continued to herself, standing up and heading over to her cot. "No matter what..." 

"Training starts tomorrow. So you want go to bed early, right?" Magda questioned, and Hugh nodded. 

"At least that I can do," She locked her door the best she could by simply pushing the desk over to it to hinder someone who tried to get in and started to undress. She didn't think it had a high chance of happening, but she couldn't be too careful. She unbuttoned her uniform and tossed it aside on the floor, curling up into her cot wearing long leggings and a slip; a mix of male and female underwear. She knew even her underclothes needed to be less suspicious but she also needed the support of a slip, so that at least had to stay. 

Hugh then fell asleep within minutes, thoroughly exhausted by the day's events. 

()()()()()()()()()()()()

She only woke up once late that night, rubbing her eyes and squeezing her thighs together. 

"Damn it..." She tried to remain curled up in bed, but her squirms were too urgent to reward her any sort of peace, so finally she stood up and very slowly pulled the desk out of its place. She noticed Magda had fallen asleep on the lamp, curled up into a ball and glowing a dim light. Hugh grinned at the sight, finding it strangely adorable. 

Once the desk was pushed out of the way, she slowly pulled open her door, glancing around and not noticing any moving shadows, or even still ones. Perfect. She snuck around and walked down the hill, still turning her nose up at the sight and smell of the garbage pit. 

"Ugh..." She looked around and saw a few bushes a few feet away and hurried over there, jiggling around. No matter what, she'd never actually relieve herself in such a place. She looked around several times in all directions, making sure she was truly alone before she lifted her slip up, adjusting her leggings slightly before she squatted down to relieve herself. She couldn't help sighing in relief after she was done, redressing herself. 

Hugh then slinked away into the shadows, heading back to her cabin and collapsing onto her cot. Nobody had seen her, which was good. Maybe she should make that part of her plan; only relieve herself at night when the chances of her getting spotted were far less likely. It sure beat the other alternatives. 

Feeling comfortable, she fell asleep again. 

()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Morning! I made breakfast," Magda chirped happily in her ear, making Hugh mumble a bit in her sleep. 

"Five more minutes...." 

"But the breakfast is ready!" Magda motioned over to a small bowl she made; filled with fresh fruit. "I picked it all myself," 

Hugh finally woke up and rubbed at her eyes, sighing as she noticed the bowl. She would've preferred something way heartier for breakfast, like eggs and bacon, but she supposed fruit would be good enough. She kneeled at the desk and started eating a few slices, noticing Magda hovering close by, watching. 

"What, do you want some?" She held out a strawberry. 

"I can't, it's impolite to eat too much," 

"Tch, that's ridiculous! Even Sulla have to abide by that stupid rule?" Hugh kept holding out the strawberry. "Here, we're both girls," 

Magda hesitated for a moment before she finally flew over, taking the small slice from Hugh; which was still big enough to give her some flying trouble, then sat on the desk and nibbled at it gently. 

Hugh continued eating her fruit salad for a while before she was startled by a knock at her door. 

"Who is it?!" She called out, ready to dive back under her covers if needed. 

"Training is about to start, where are you?" Willow's voice reached her, making her scowl slightly. Still, she paused. 

"It is?!" Oh God, she slept in, and on her first day too! "I'm coming!" She shoved the remainder of the fruit into her mouth and pulled on her pants, shirt, and jacket, tugging on her boots and running out. Magda quickly flew after her, knowing she left behind her weapons but not being able to bring them to her properly. 

Hugh joined the lineup of the guys, keeping her head up. 

"Sleeping in on your first day? Not a good look for you," Gonzalo mused. 

"Like your heavy rouge?" She snapped back in annoyance. 

"Soldiers!" Barbalius announced, striding over with Barris by his side as usual. "Today is your first official day of training. Today you'll get to show everyone what you're made of, your strengths, and of course the hope your abilities will be used for the protection and defense of your proud nation," Despite being dressed in the same plain beige uniform as everyone else, he managed to still retain an aura of pure glitter. "These trials will only last for a few weeks and will train you on your speed, strength, agility, dexterity, and aim. So for starters, give me ten laps around the course!" 

Ten laps? That felt ridiculously easy. 

She ran off to join the course with the guys, easily settling into a rapid pace she could easily manage, completing one lap before the rest of her group. 

_Piece of cake,_ She thought to herself as she kept running, trying to keep her brisk pace. Still, she mainly rode around everywhere which wasn't the best way to keep one's breath. Near the end of her second lap, she gasped a bit and slowed, wanting to fan herself from the hot summer sun. 

"Are you alright?" Alan asked her, running over to be next to her. 

"Aren't you worried about getting in trouble if you talk to me?" Hugh stared at him. 

"W-We're not forbidden from talking...are we?" He suddenly looked concerned, which would've made Hugh laugh if she wasn't so focused on trying not to collapse and catch her breath. 

"I'm fine," She said quickly, trying to run ahead from him. Her legs burned from her weird stance and she ended up wobbling on the ground, gasping and falling down. 

"Come on, you can get back up, Olineaux!" Barbalius announced. She groaned and slowly sat up, rubbing her side. 

"So loud..." She got back up and started running again, albeit slower than before. She completed the second lap but slowed even more, fanning herself. She subtly looked around and saw some of the other men were slowing down or just simply walking, not taking it as seriously. She held her chest and ran at a slower pace, trying to keep her feet up. Still, it took her nearly an hour to complete all ten laps around the course, and by then her legs felt like noodles and she collapsed on the spot. 

"Don't you want to serve your nation? It'll take us some time to get worthy soldiers out of everyone," Barbalius said smoothly. "It's a job I'll take with the utmost sincerity," He lifted up Hugh's head and stared into her eyes. "Got it?" 

"I don't know why you're singling me out..." She gasped, faceplanting when Barbalius let go of her head. 

"We are just getting started. The daily regime isn't just running," Barris reminded everyone, leading to several sighs and groans. "That's just the nature of the thing," 

"Why don't we work on climbing next? Avoid pitfalls?" Barbalius suggested. 

The next trial was to complete an obstacle course made up of climbing, crawling, running, and dodging. Hugh went up first and very slowly tried to climb up the ladder, freezing when her hands had gotten too sweaty to properly hold onto the rungs. 

"Damn it...don't fall, don't fall," She quietly willed herself. Magda fluttered helplessly under her hat, not like a fairy of that petite size would've been much help anyway. She remained where she was, feeling her hands starting to slip off. 

"Doesn't training take your breath away?" Juven quipped, which made Hugh grit her teeth and tighten her grip on the rungs. She very slowly managed to pull herself up another before her hand slipped and she lost her balance entirely, falling off the ladder and landing on the ground, wincing at the pain shooting up her side. 

"You can walk it off," Barris wrote something down in his book, making her glare at him. 

"He's right, in a an actual battle you'd have to work around any injuries you might receive," Barbalius added as Hugh stood back up on wobbly legs. 

"If only you didn't have to do the same with your big dick," She finally snapped, going to the end of the line. 

The next trial was to participate in the shooting range; Hugh went up first as well, trying to clumsily get a hold on her pistol. 

_If only I could fight with my sword..._

"Your stance is off," Barris scolded, taking a stick and smacking the back of her legs, making her stumble. "Your feet should be together, same with your hands. Hold the pistol steady and then aim," 

She rolled her eyes and did what he said, afraid of him trying to correct her stance himself with his hands. She held her pistol away from her at arm's length and fired it, gasping at the sudden pushback and sound. The bullet went long and slipped into some bushes, not anywhere close to hitting the target. 

"We'll have to work on that," 

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

The next day, they started with the climbing, which Hugh was thankful for until she actually managed to climb halfway up the ladder and noticed how high she was in comparison to the ground. She made the mistake of looking down and swallowed sickly, pressing herself up against the rungs and tightening her grip. The ground seemed to spiral underneath her. 

_I can't climb up and I can't climb down I can't climb up and I can't climb down!_

"I think something's wrong with him," Alan told Barris; she was sure he meant to whisper but it came out loud enough for everyone else to hear. "Maybe he's afraid of heights," 

"Try climbing back down!" Juven suggested. 

"I can't! I can't climb down!" Hugh finally cried out. 

"Oh, so he _is_ afraid of heights. I should've known such a finely-dressed soldier was truly all show," Gonzalo mused. 

"Talking about yourself?" Juven stabbed. 

Hugh would've commented too if she was in a better frame of mind, but instead she just closed her eyes and remained perfectly still, tightly gripping onto the ladder rungs despite her hands starting to sweat. 

"Jump back down, someone will catch you," Barris suggested. "You can't just stall on a ladder in a tense situation," 

Being caught was a worse solution, she didn't want anyone's hands on her body especially in such an intimate way. Her heart hammered and she tried to climb up another step, only to lose her footing and suddenly slip before she recomposed herself. She swallowed again and squeezed her eyes shut. 

"I can't climb down! I think I'm just stuck here," She said, looking up the remainder of the ladder. If she climbed up the rest then climbed back down, she'd be safe. 

Her eyes still shut, she very slowly began climbing back down, gasping at how slippery her hands felt. When there were no more rungs to stick her feet into, she jumped off and swayed, clutching her head in an attempt to steady herself. 

"God I feel ill...." She said, going back to the end of the line. Alan stared at her in worry. 

"Maybe I should get some water for you-" 

"I'm fine," She snapped. "It's going to take more than some ladder to best a man like me!" 

She had to work on her fear of heights. It wasn't manly at all! 

()()()()()()()()()()()

Meals were always held in the mess hall, though Hugh usually ate alone in her cabin, wanting to give some portions to Magda, no matter how meager. She almost felt like she had to. Most nights, she got away with it with little suspicion, but one day after training, Gonzalo cornered her. 

"What?" 

"It's likely none of my business, but some of us have noticed you don't like eating with us. What could possibly bond a man together more than a meal?" He asked. 

"A dick-measuring contest," She grumbled under her breath. "I just like eating alone, is that an issue? That make me girly now? Tough talk from someone who jingles when he walks!" 

"Hey, I'm just making a suggestion. We're birds of a feather, almost. I can tell under your uniform you're just as stylish as I am," He took her hands, making her blush hotly. "And we're both not much for fighting," 

She was silent. 

"Once training is over, I'll put in a word. Let us go shopping sometime, I'll get some pretty brooches for us," He squeezed her right hand. "Now let's go to dinner," 

"No thank you on the brooches. Anything picked out by you would blind people," Still, it sounded....nice. Shopping in a carefree way, picking out actual clothes to wear that weren't her military threads....she couldn't actually buy a new dress or anything, but jewelry was seemingly alright. She just wished it wasn't with such a flamboyant man. 

"It's beef stew tonight," Gonzalo added, sitting her down at an empty table. 

"Yuck," She groaned. She desperately wanted meat, actual, genuine meat, like pork or lamb, something that'd fill her up properly. Beef stew was sad and pathetic. 

Gonzalo came back with two bowls and set one down in front of her including a metal spoon. She caught her reflection in it and subtly stuck out her tongue. Her hair was greasy and her overall appearance was muddy and worn. She grabbed the spoon and started eating, slurping loudly and dripping the broth down her chin. She mainly ate the broth, leaving the lumpier pieces of meat alone. Gonzalo said nothing but stared at her in interest anyway. 

Once she finished, she almost stifled her burp before remembering where she was and did so, pushing the bowl away. 

"Alright, I ate dinner with you. You're awful company," She said, subtly slipping some pieces of meat into her pocket. 

"You simply haven't caught my eye yet," 

She huffed and stormed out, heading back to her cabin. 

"Magda! I've brought food!" She pulled out the pieces of meat, pulling the dirt off them. "Sulla aren't vegetarians, right? It was beef stew tonight," 

Magda flew out of hiding and shook her head, nibbling on one of the meat pieces. "Some might be, but I'm not. Like how some humans are," 

She just nodded. 

"You're surrounded by lots of human guys all of the time...do you think any are cute?" 

"What?!" 

"Don't human girls speak of these things?" Magda asked in genuine curiosity. 

"I mean, maybe some of the more foolish ones, but not me. I'm not a foolish little girl," Hugh proclaimed. "I never cared about romance," 

Magda nodded. "I understand. Sulla do not have marriage, you know," 

Hugh choked back a laugh. "God, I wish I were Sulla then," She looked at her empty desk. Maybe she could find a way to get a message out to her parents. What if Zoe and Christie were worried about her; worst, what if they believed her to be already dead? She needed to send a telegram back, or even better, call them on those new telephone things! Then they'd know for sure she was okay! 

Stuff like that likely fell on Barris though, and she didn't want to ask him. Spending too much time around him in general was too risky. He knew the ins-and-outs of the Four Families, including their genealogy. He likely studied her habits carefully from their time spent together from courtships. He'd likely expose her instantly as a fraud. 

No....her parents could wait. Her heart panged sadly and she sighed, laying her head down on her desk. 

()()()()()()()()()()()

"Damn it!" Hugh cursed as another one of her shot bullets went long, sailing through the sky and crashing into more bushes. "I can never hold this pistol steady! Damn it! Damn it all to Hell!" She nearly tossed the gun down in frustration before she caught herself at the last second and instead picked up a nearby twig and hurled that. 

"What strong words," Juven whistled, appearing from behind her. She jumped and gave him a dirty look. 

"What do you want?" 

"To help you," He looked at her stance and tsk'ed. "Did my uncle teach you nothing? Seriously, listen to him in that area. He actually knows how to shoot pistols," He placed his hands on hers and held her stance steady, making her face heat up. "Keep the gun level with the target. Sometimes it helps to close one eye," 

"The hell do you care?" Hugh glared at him. 

"I want to see a fellow soldier succeed. I guess we got off on the wrong foot. I'd like to get to know someone as dashing as you," He winked. 

"Damn playboy," She kept her focus on the target, lining the barrel up. 

"Concentrate," Juven hovered close by, his words tickling her cheek. She tensed up and fired the gun by accident, nearly cursing until she saw the bullet smashed into the center of the target. 

"I got it!" She cheered in surprise. 

"Good job," Juven smiled. "Try it again," 

"I don't want to waste my bullets," 

"It's not wartime yet, you'll have plenty to spare, little mouse," 

"I'm not a mouse either," She cocked the gun again. 

"How about a horse? A small foal that could one day grow to be a mighty stallion," Juven teased. She suddenly thought of her own beloved mare, Carrot Rice. 

Hugh fired the pistol at another target, narrowly missing the center but still hitting it. She then fired a third time, also narrowly getting the center. She stared at the gun in wonder. 

"I hear tomorrow Uncle is going to have us practice on moving targets," He teased before leaving her alone. She pouted at that. 

"Great...." 

()()()()()()()()()

Hugh slowly got better at endurance and running, as well as crawling through barb wire especially after a particularly nasty incident involving her cut hand. She was even getting a lot better at shooting moving targets! Yet she still couldn't properly climb the ladder due to her fear of heights. She gave it another try for the fourth time that week, climbing halfway up before she balked and had to slowly climb back down with her eyes closed. 

"I don't suppose you have some kind of anti-fear spell or anything, huh?" She mused to Magda one night after everyone else had gone to sleep. Magda was still curled up on top of the lamp. 

"Of course not, that would be dishonest!" She gasped instantly. "You need to get over your fear of heights yourself, Lord Olineaux," 

"I know..." She simply sighed to herself. Before a fear of heights wasn't an issue and some even thought it was cute in a noble, she'd climb up trees, get too scared to come down, and some loyal white knight would show up to carry her back down. Of course, that knight was more often than not Vicky or Balfey or sometimes even Zoe, but still. Her fear of heights never hindered her in any way. 

Barris and Barbalius both made it clear though; if she didn't find some way to get over it, they'd send her back home, and she couldn't afford that. Not now, not when she had worked so hard and already come so far. 

She'd just have to try and not stop trying until she conquered the ladder as well as her fear. 

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Instead of going straight to bed the next night, Hugh waited for the camp to settle down, then snuck outside and headed to the training grounds, staring up at the large ladder. It couldn't have been more than several feet off the ground; maybe five or six at the most, but weren't falls from those heights deadly? And she herself was so small and tiny, she'd break half her bones for sure-!

"Stop!" She yelled at herself. She clenched her fists and swallowed, very slowly climbing the first few rungs of the ladder. She closed her eyes and took steady steps, picturing she was climbing a beloved tree in her childhood. 

Another step. 

She thought of Christmastime, her house decked out in festive red and green, their traditional purple forgotten for just a few days, the tables and mantles decorated with holly branches, her namesake. The distinct taste of tequila made in Vicky's own special way; a hint of orange juice with the overpowering taste of lime, licking all of the salt off the rim, and Zoe shaking his head in amusement as he scolded the two. Evidently it only took three glasses of the stuff to get her entirely drunk as they learned on Balfey's birthday last year. 

Another step. 

She thought of watching Christie paint when she was younger, being lulled to sleep sometimes by the repetitive brushstrokes. What she loved most of all though was watching Zoe practice his fighting, training with his sword. She'd hide behind the doorway and watch for hours, her eyes wide and her mouth open in delight. She often tried to incorporate his own moves into her pretend swordfights with Balfey.

Another step. 

She thought of meat, real meat, not the lumpy tasteless stuff they tossed in a pot here at camp; bacon and eggs in the morning, a large serving of buttery lobster in the afternoon, and a rack of lamb in the evening. She wondered if after training was over, they really would be allowed to visit somewhere they liked. If so, she didn't want to go shopping. Her desire for meat took precedence. 

Another step. 

Another step. 

Another step. 

Hugh gasped and pulled herself over the top of the ladder, briefly opening her eyes for the task. She was so high up! 

Closing her eyes again, she swung her legs over the top and very gradually climbed back down, jumping off the last rung right as the sun began rising. She threw her hands up in triumph, panting slightly. 

"I did it! I climbed the ladder!" 

"Congratulations," Barbalius praised, making her turn sharply. "I don't mean anything bad by that. You proved your worth and determination as a soldier," 

"I just climbed a ladder," Hugh walked away, though the second she closed her cabin door and pushed the desk back up against it, she gasped happily. "I climbed a ladder! I got over my fear!"

Magda flew over with a smile. "That's great news, Lord Olineaux," 

"So, you're Sulla, can you actually do anything?" Hugh asked as she laid down on her cot, resting up. 

"I can do all sorts of magic," She flew over close to Hugh and held out her hands, making flower petals fall from them. 

"Nothing cool like fire?" 

"Of course I have fire magic, but I don't think it's a very good idea to use it in a place like this!" 

"In winter that could be useful. You know, for warming me up?" She teased Magda a bit, making her blush. "Speaking of which...you always sleep on top of my lamp. Surely that's not super comfortable?" 

Magda said nothing, which told Hugh everything. 

"Curl up next to me for once. You're tiny, I don't mind," 

"Are you sure?" 

"Why would I miss out on the chance to sleep next to a cute tiny fairy girl?" Hugh continued to tease, making Magda flit about in embarrassment. She finally flew over to Hugh and curled up on her pillow, tucking her wings in the best she could. 

"This pillow is quite soft," She bounced on it slightly. "Softer than I thought," 

"Wait until you sleep on it for several weeks," 

The two giggled at that, and Hugh curled up properly and fell asleep. 

()()()()()()()()()()()

After training more the next evening, Hugh managed to sneak off and untie Carrot Rice, leading her to a cleaner area of grass by a small lake. Carrot Rice started to happily eat while Hugh ducked behind her, starting to undress. 

"What are you doing?" Magda asked in concern, flying over. "What if someone sees you?" 

"Look, I reek. I may look like a man, but I refuse to smell like one," She scoffed. 

"Well...maybe you'll be fine if you do it quickly?" Magda still hovered nervously as Hugh finished pulling off the rest of her uniform and jumped into the water, sighing happily. 

"This feels nice..." She said to herself, rinsing off slightly. She paid special attention to her hair, scrubbing the grease away. She thought of the lavender oil Christie poured into her hair for her date with Barris and briefly wanted those back before she thought better of it. Even the most fashionable and flamboyant man didn't go around smelling like flowers all of the time, now did they? She swam around slightly, enjoying the feeling of cold water in the late summer air. 

"Lord Olineaux! Lord Olineaux!" Magda flew around urgently, pulling on her hair. She rolled her eyes. 

"What-" 

"Hugh?" Alan's voice reached her instead, making her freeze and sink deeper into the water. She swam off into some deeper water, concealing herself behind a rock. Magda flew off as well. "There you a-are...sorry we had to meet in such an awkward situation," 

_You don't know the half of it,_

"I always just feel bad for you. I think you're a great fighter but some of the other guys try to push you around. It's not fair just because you're smaller!" Alan announced. "You have great determination," 

Hugh said nothing, just focusing on trying to keep herself afloat in some way that didn't instantly expose her secret. 

"I met your father once, you know," 

She paused. "Seriously?" 

"Y-Yeah...it was pretty awkward too because of his title. I was a bit younger than I am now. He saw me pacing around the large fountain in the middle of town and asked if I was alright. At first I thought he was talking to someone else until I realized I was the only one there," He began nervously.

Hugh nodded, intrigued. 

"He told me he was proud of me for choosing to join the City Guard and said I had the look of a soldier. I told him all I ever wanted to do was protect other people and he said 'you and my daughter have that in common'. He then left," Alan finished. "I imagine that even if he never talked about you much, he's still proud of you," 

"Yeah...super proud of me," She laughed awkwardly and swam away, dunking under the water. Alan swam after her. 

"Did I say something wrong again?" He asked after she slowly resurfaced. 

"No, you didn't," _On the contrary, you said everything you needed to._ "Anyway, I'm super clean now so I'm leaving," She swam away from him rapidly, looking around for Magda. 

"Awww, are the two lovebirds bathing together?" Willow teased, wading into the water. With his hair down, he almost seemed to be a different person physically, though Hugh still did her best to avert her eyes. He was walking into the water slowly and thus showing off his entire body. "I thought I might've missed out on something," 

"No," Hugh ducked back under the water and managed to swim further away, still glancing around for Magda. 

"Believe it or not, I'm not an inherently bad person. I think we got off on the wrong foot your first day here, so let's start over. I'm Willow," He punched her on the elbow, making her jump. 

"You already know my name," She spotted Magda hiding behind a tree and subtly motioned towards Willow, which made Magda nod and fly off. 

"Would it be too forward if I asked for us to spar? You have considerable strength already," Willow smirked before a giant wave pushed in out of nowhere and completely soaked him. "What the-" Another wave silenced him, this time completely knocking him over. 

"Hey, maybe it is time for us to get out...maybe a storm is coming," Alan suggested before getting splashed by his own giant wave. 

Hugh took advantage of the large waves causing chaos and whistled for Carrot Rice, carefully hopping out of the water and walking off shielded. She sighed as she wrapped her body in her mare's horse blanket. 

"How was it?" Magda whispered, flying over. "I was worried the waves were too big," 

"They were fine," Hugh reassured her, squeezing out her wet hair. "Still...I don't think I ever want to see a naked man again. Clothed men are more than enough," She shuddered a bit. 

()()()()()()()()()()

The next morning, Hugh managed to wake up early enough to actually eat breakfast with the rest of the group in the mess hall; more bland porridge. Against her better judgement, she sat at the same table Alan, Gonzalo, and Juven were all sitting at. 

"Good morning," Alan greeted her nicely, making her face blush before she could properly react. She quickly bowed her head into her food. 

"Does the little foal have a crush on Alan?" Juven teased. "I can't wait to write about this when we return!" 

"No!" Hugh said quickly. "I don't have a crush on him. I was just surprised he took time out of his day to actually be polite to me," She ate slowly. 

"We don't dislike you," 

She rolled her eyes at that. 

"Good news!" Barbalius announced, walking into the room. Instead of the bland beige uniform, he was instead dressed in a distinct red commander's outfit with a tailored white coat over it and far more actual sparkles. "Your training has all gone very smoothly. I'm proud to command you men. Starting today, we're officially packing up and moving out to go to the front lines where we'll be for up to two weeks. Your hard work has paid off! Continue making me proud," 

"The front lines?" Juven asked once Barbalius left. "That was sooner than I expected," 

"Finally, we'll get to see some action!" Hugh couldn't stop herself from grinning. The whole reason she had left and masqueraded around would finally be fulfilled to her. "I've waited forever to hear those words!" 

"I wish we could've spent just a bit longer here," Gonzalo lamented. "The front line is quite dangerous and not a place I want to be for very long," 

"Well...I'm excited too. Just like Hugh, I came here to protect people, and what better place than the front lines? We're finally getting to do what we came here to do," Alan nodded, looking at Hugh. She quickly ate up her porridge and dashed off, still grinning. 

"Magda!" She gasped and ran down the hill, searching through bushes and small trees for any sort of fruit, pouting to herself. "I figured there likely wouldn't be anything here, but still..." 

"What's wrong?" Magda flew over. Her hair was normally unadorned but today she wore a small hat made from petals in it. 

"Breakfast was porridge...I was looking for some fruit for you," She said. 

"I can eat flowers too...and grass...I'm not that picky. I'll eat almost anything so long as it's edible," 

"Then..." She yanked out a handful of grass and awkwardly handed it to Magda. "Eat up?" 

Magda selected a few blades and started nibbling as she followed Hugh back to their cabin. 

"Did you hear? We finally get to move out! We're going to be on the front lines!" Hugh cheered, spinning around. "This is what I've waited for! A chance to fight!" She tightened her uniform up and slipped on the trenchcoat, packing everything else up in her bag. By her side was her pistol and sword. "And of course you'll come too...though I imagine it'd be a lot harder to hide you," 

"I'll be more useful in battle though. Due to my size, I can sneak around and gather intel for you," Magda insisted, sitting on Hugh's shoulder. 

"Why are you so small, anyway?" 

"Sulla come in all different sizes! Most are the size of humans, but some are tiny. Like me," 

"You know, when I was younger, people used to compare me to a Sulla girl. They said I looked too unfamiliar and acted too wild and ate too much. I guess I see where the comparisons come from. Our eyes are similarly mesmerizing," She sighed. 

"No, I think you're just a regular human. Some humans just look different," Magda consoled her. "I can tell people's bloodlines, and you are every bit your parents' daughter as Mr. Barris is Viscount Sakan's uncle," 

Hugh glanced over at the desk again. Once she was on the front, it'd likely be near impossible to actually send a letter out, or any sort of communication. Who knew what her parents were thinking of her. 

She bit her lip and marched out, checking the letters on the doors until she found the one she wanted and knocked on it loudly. 

"What?" Barris came out, writing something down. "Have you finished packing yet?"

"Do you have any ways of communication? Dad...I want to send him a letter in some way," Hugh asked quickly. 

"On the battlefield, telegrams are sometimes sent out at various intervals. You can get in touch with Duke Olineaux then," 

She pouted but bit her tongue. If she argued further, it might potentially blow her cover, so instead she bowed and hurried off. 

At least it was an answer, and a answer was sometimes better than no answer. Like in this case. 

"Come on Magda. The frontlines await us!" Hugh cheered one final time, hiding Magda under her cap and securing it on her head. She then walked ahead to join her group in line. 

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"So, we're moving to the frontlines. To thank you all, I decided to get you all a little present!" Juven smiled as they finally finished packing up the remainder of the camp in the evening. The cabins were left alone, but all of the weapons and provisions had to go with them no matter what. 

"Oh? A present from a pink dragonfly?" Gonzalo quipped. "I'm not sure if I'll like this," 

"You won't!" Juven responded back just as cheerfully. "It was quite hard to get, but trust me, at least one of you will appreciate it!" He whistled. 

"What do you think he got?" Hugh asked Alan softly in curiosity. 

"A car maybe? One of those new ones? So we could all ride around in it," Alan suggested. 

"Dad has one of those. He takes Mom out riding in it sometimes but they have to wear a special set of goggles and coats to keep the dust and dirt off them when they drive," Hugh remembered, feeling another pang. 

Juven led a woman over to the group, smiling. "Meet Helena, back home she's known as one of the beautiful flowers of Finsel," He introduced. 

The woman had distinct blue hair pulled up into a messy updo and an open red dress, wielding a fan. She pulled it away from her face and fluttered her eyelashes slightly. "I haven't been able to talk with many soldier boys....I hope you all will take good care of me!" 

Hugh blushed and quickly averted her eyes, making Helena giggle. She walked right over and took her wrist. "A cherryboy, hm? I like those the best. They're adorable and fun to tease. I pick you," 

Several men whistled and clapped Hugh on the back as Helena continued to smile, dragging Hugh away to an empty cabin. The place had been stripped of everything aside from the cot, lamp, and desk, and Hugh found herself being pushed onto the cot. Helena slowly locked the door and closed her fan, giving Hugh a more sultry expression. 

"So, cherryboy, what should we do first? I don't mind taking the lead for your first time," She got on her knees and slowly crawled over to Hugh, giving a pouty expression. Hugh quickly shook her head. 

"This is a misunderstanding! I don't want to do anything like that...I..I.." She winced. "Please keep a secret. If you don't...my family will make it dreadful for you," 

"Oh?" Helena sat up, curious. 

Hugh pulled her hat and jacket off, then very slowly took Helena's hands and slipped them under her shirt, letting her feel the bindings there. Helena pulled away, still smiling. 

"An interesting secret indeed....that's alright. I don't mind you being a girl at all...in fact, I think it just makes you even cuter!" 

Hugh just stared at her. "I don't want to do anything like that," She repeated. 

"That's fine. Believe it or not, I can be used for comfort in other ways. I actually prefer those ways. What sort of comfort do you want?" Helena asked nicely before Hugh felt her eyes suddenly well up with tears. She pounced on the older woman and hugged her tightly, starting to cry. 

"W-Why am I so upset...?!" 

Helena gently ran a hand through Hugh's hair, also patting her back. "Tell your Auntie Helena what's wrong," 

"Every single day here is so hard. I nearly hate it! I hate the feeling of being surrounded by guys all of the time, I hate the food and the clothing, I hate the absolute lack of privacy...I feel like a gutter-rat! Yet I came here to save my father and brother from a similar fate...I'm stronger than my older brother is, he'd never survive in a place like this," Hugh confessed, burying her face in Helena's chest. Helena continued playing with Hugh's hair lovingly. 

"The fact you made it this far already....the Olineauxes never raised any weakling children. Not even adorable Lord Balfey, I think he has an inner-strength. Both you and the lady Vicky have your mother's strength and determination," 

"I miss my family so much....I don't want to die out here," 

Helena kept patting her head, eventually coaxing her to look up at her. Her tears were mostly dried but she still looked sorrowful. 

"Olineauxes are a resilient family. Why do you think your family's traditions and beliefs have remained the same over thousands of years?" She smiled at Hugh. "Want to open the door? I want to give those men a surprise when they see us entwined together like this," 

Hugh recomposed herself, standing up and redressing before she quickly shook her head. "No way! Though....I feel I should at least pay you," She rubbed at her eyes. 

"No need. Consider this on the house. I love helping out cute cherrygirls like yourself," She hid her giggles with her fan. 

"Well...I suppose there is one thing you could do for me before I send you away," Hugh stepped closer. 

"Anything, darling," 

Hugh leaned in closer and gave Helena a small kiss.


	4. Wartime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hugh and her friends finally go to war and experience trench life first-hand. It's claustrophobic and dull and tense, but she's determined to keep her resolve no matter what.

No-man's-land was a grey and torn-up tract of land that likely did have something beautiful growing on it at one point, maybe flowers, maybe berries, but now it was muddy and filled with slush and debris. Hugh hadn't had much of a chance to look around further because they arrived near dawn and had to quickly gather everyone up and rush inside for fear of getting spotted in the light. 

She also wasn't sure what the actual opposing side looked like but silently hoped it was in far worse condition than her own. 

The trench was a deep and cramped series of tunnels carefully dug-out and fortified with barb wire and several sheets of wood. They had a tiny shack mainly used for communication; at first she thought maybe Barris or Barbalius lived inside but the one time she managed to take a look there was no signs of a bed or belongings. Really, she had no idea where they slept, she just figured it wasn't with them because what self-respecting commander would? 

"Is it time for dinner yet?" She didn't mean to sound whiny but all she wanted was cream, the heavy sweet cream often put on top of desserts. If she couldn't have good meat, she could at least have good cream. It was put into tea so it couldn't be super hard to come across, right? 

"Isn't it always time for dinner?" Juven teased, not looking up from his post. It was his turn to man the sniper rifle, keeping an eye on the opposing side. "I imagine we could eat at any time we wanted and they wouldn't complain," 

Hugh finished polishing her sword to the best of her ability, it was still grimy because the rag she was using had mud on it, but it was better than nothing. She looked at her reflection in it, just as muddy and oily as the sword itself. She slowly resheathed it and tossed the rag away. 

"I don't want to eat if it's just going to be sardines and tack again," Her stomach had been hurting for the past few days and she was worried she had somehow gotten sick from what she had been eating. She carefully stepped around on the floor, her boots sinking into the dirt. She winced slightly at the cool feeling in her soaked boots but shook it off. "You see anything interesting yet?" 

"Nope, but that's alright. Nighttime is when everyone becomes more active anyway," 

Even though they were fighting Sulla, that was still true. She read Sulla rarely needed sleep, but their attacks were often predictable hits intended to take them out in one-strike due to their impulsiveness. If one was paying attention, they were easy attacks to avoid. 

She then walked over to Alan, poring over a book and sat next to him curiously. "What are you reading, Mister Alan?" She teased, taking the book away from him before he had a chance to resist. "Poetry from Hondo and Mandaria? We're in the middle of a war! Stop being so soft!" She scolded, making him blush. 

"I-I know...but right now we can relax, and I always found their poems so beautiful," He explained shyly. "Listen to this one; a flower in bloom, delicate and full of sight, alone it blooms," 

She scoffed a bit. "I don't know anything about this sort of thing..." She never had, it wasn't of interest to her. 

"Why don't you pick out one you like?" Alan asked, offering the book to her again. She randomly flipped through, eventually coming across a random one. 

"It's about butterflies...come on, we're men! I don't care about girly stuff like this!" She tossed the book back at him. "I wanna read about manly stuff like swordfights and boxing and pretty girls!" 

Alan blushed heavily at that. "Even so...isn't nicer, calmer things like this good sometimes? It gives us a chance to relax," 

"Heads up!" Juven called out, and Hugh only had time to hear the familiar whistling and ducked to the ground, crawling out of the way and crouching in as tight of a ball as she could manage. She winced as the grenade finally exploded; it had been enhanced through fire magic so after exploding it spread a trail of fire everywhere that was slowly being choked out by the mud. She coughed and tightened her grip on the walls; her ears were ringing and she felt dizzy and disoriented. The heat from the fire made sweat drip down her back. 

"Is everyone okay?" She managed to call out herself, keeping a hand on her head to steady herself. 

"No causalities...the fire burned itself out," Gonzalo assessed. "Which makes sense. I've practiced with spells very similar to these and their intent is to kill as many targets as possible in a very short amount of time. They're made to be one-strike things, not strategical tools," 

"I wish we could use magic like that. Level out the playing field, you know?" Hugh tried to tease. "You studied magic like this for years," 

"More because of my family. I mainly cared about the fashion," 

"Hmph," 

"Dinnertime! We should eat up now, the sun is about to go down," Juven tossed everyone their ration box and Hugh caught hers easily, sitting away from everyone else. Magda stirred from her sleep in Hugh's coat and she subtly stuck a piece of bread down it. 

Yes, black bread, sardines, a hunk of cheese for flavour, and a small bottle of gin. She placed some cheese and a sardine on a slice of her bread, making a tiny makeshift sandwich, and bit into it. When she emptied the sardine tin and gin bottle she tossed them away from her, further away into the trench. 

"Go clean those up, it'll attract rats," Barbalius scolded her, coming down into the trench. 

"The rats come no matter what we do," She grumbled. It was one of the only times her sword was used, she liked to chase the rats around the trench and stab them with her sword, getting it bloody. 

"Still, it shows you have respect for your home and fellow soldiers," Barbalius smiled a bit. 

She stuffed the remainder of her food into her mouth and picked her garbage up, tossing them instead into an open garbage bag that was placed next to a few closed ones. Since she was finished eating, she relieved Juven of his position at the sniper rifle, knowing she wouldn't be there for long but still needing to do her part. She got lucky; someone poked their head out of the opposing trench and she grabbed the trigger, firing it instantly and smirking when she heard a cry of pain. 

Barbalius remained after the rest finished eating and continued to give out orders; Hugh remained as the sniper but Gonzalo and Juven were assigned to actual weaponry such as throwing grenades and Alan had to send out some scouts to scope out the scene better. Barbalius planned on raiding the opposing trench as soon as possible to get further intel or possibly capture a prisoner, but they needed to know who they were up against more clearly. 

She didn't snipe anyone else that night, but Gonzalo got a few kills by amplifying his thrown knife with a powerful wind spell, impaling several Sulla who took the trek through no-man's-land. She curled up to sleep once dawn arrived, huddled under her trenchcoat with a small pain in her stomach. 

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

When she woke up the next day, it was near evening and she felt a distinct wetness between her legs. Still half-asleep, she sat up slightly and placed her hand down there in curiosity, only to widen her eyes in horror and fully wake up when her hand came back covered in blood. 

"What is it?" Magda asked curiously at a whisper. "A wound?" 

Hugh kept her coat on and rushed into the communication shack, collapsing on the floor and curling up in a corner. 

Her cycles had come. She didn't want to say 'womanly cycles' since it felt strange to her, but there was no disguising that fact now. For at least a few days she'd be bleeding out with no way to hide it. 

"Magda..." She clutched her stomach. "Don't let anyone come in here...I mean it!" She gasped out, and Magda nodded and flew over to the door, whispering something and touching the lock. 

"I locked it tightly. Nobody will be able to come in here," She promised. "Unless they broke it down, but they would keep your privacy, right?" 

Hugh curled up under the trenchcoat, suddenly feeling hot and ill. She moaned in pain and fell in and out of a troubled sleep, shivering. 

She only barely registered the sound of the door being kicked down and several people rushing over to her in concern. 

"He's burning up," Alan reported. "He might have trench fever....Hugh? Can you hear me?" He placed a gentle hand on her head, making her moan. 

"N-No....d-don't...d-don't...t-t-to uch me..." She shivered violently. 

"If we had some kind of medical help..." Alan sighed. "Try to get some water for him," He took off his own trenchcoat and put it under her head, carefully lifting it up and putting her on it. She shivered again. 

"Here's some," Juven's voice reached her swimming consciousness and she was briefly made aware of someone gently helping her sit up and some cool water being dripped into her mouth and on her forehead and neck. She shivered. "If he doesn't recover in another day, we'll have to tell my uncle. He'll make the proper arrangements for us to take him to a field hospital," 

Hugh rolled over on her back and moaned again. She weakly reached a hand out and someone held it; she grabbed it even tighter in surprise. She had a sudden thought of Christie carefully dabbing water on her forehead and cheeks during bad fevers in her childhood, singing gently to her and holding her hand. Of Vicky giving her chocolate and heavy bandages to have during her cycles; she was the only one around during her first one and despite her own anxiety Vicky had helped her through it, telling her in no uncertain terms what that meant for her body in the next few years. 

"Dad..." She choked out, closing her eyes again. 

()()()()()()()()()()

After a few days, both Hugh's cycle and high fever had ended, though she was still made to rest up one extra day due to how weak and fragile she had been in her recovery period. Magda apologized profusely for not doing more to keep the soldiers out, but Hugh shrugged the apologies off. They saved her life, how could she be upset at that? What happened was entirely a fluke though and something she had to be far more careful to prepare for in the future.

It was raining that particular night; dark grey clouds and even greyer rain drops splattered everywhere, rendering a lot of current equipment unusable at the moment. The trench flooded somewhat and Hugh tried her hardest to keep her feet up to prevent herself from wading through ankle-high garbage and mud. The wind would pick up occasionally and blow brown leaves into the trench; the weather was too cold and changed too quickly to prompt much colour-change in the trees around them. Juven was sitting on a makeshift seat of boxes and was carving something into a leaf, making Hugh finally look over from curiosity. 

"What are you doing?" She asked. 

"Making an engraving. A memory of who I'm fighting for," He showed the leaves off to her; one read Barbara and the other read Asteria. "One is my younger sister, and the other is a sweetheart of mine," 

"Never knew the shame of Finsel could actually settle down," Hugh suddenly snapped before she caught herself. Juven just laughed. 

"We're going to become more serious after I return. She can wait...she's a very patient person," He then looked over at Gonzalo, who was trying to read something despite the rain coming down. "How about you? You fighting for anyone?" 

"My mother," Gonzalo answered almost instantly. "And also my younger sister. I don't care if she's illegitimate. She's family and she deserves to live in a nation of peace, so she can do whatever she pleases...." He then looked at Alan. "How about you?" 

"O-Oh, uh..." Alan blushed. "The country of Finsel in general, I suppose...I don't really have anyone super special I'm fighting for...I just want to protect the general public," 

"Dad," Hugh answered easily, knowing they'd ask her next. "Both him and Mom....I wish I could also have a lover of some kind to fight for, but I suppose I'm not that lucky," Magda fluttered under her hat, making her blush slightly. 

"I just volunteered myself. Seemed like a good time, a perfect chance to beat up on people who actually deserve it," Willow chimed in. "I don't really need to be fighting for anyone or anything but myself," 

"Here, you can make one too," Juven offered to Hugh, holding out a needle and several dry leaves. Hugh took them; a few started to crumble in her hands but most were firm enough. She took the needle and slowly started to write out four names on four different leaves; Zoe, Christie, Balfey, and Vicky. The four people she was fighting for. She jumped slightly at the sound of thunder in the clouds and the leaves fell out of her hands and blew away on the wind. 

()()()()()()()()()()()

Hugh finally trusted at least Alan enough to let him sleep next to her; they used their coats as blankets and Hugh especially snuggled up close underneath hers. She felt as though some nights they got very little sleeping done, but it still felt nice to be next to someone. To feel their warmth and be comforted. 

One night, she was lying on her back and Alan sat down beside her, looking up at the sky with her. "Do you see anything interesting?" 

"Even if I did, I couldn't tell what they were," She shrugged. 

"They're still pretty to look at, even if you don't know what they are..." 

"Heads down," Barris interrupted urgently, tossing them both a bundle. 

"What is it?" Alan asked in surprise. 

"Just put that on and keep your heads down," 

Hugh unwrapped hers and stared at the item curiously. It was a yellow mask with goggles attached and a long nose with the rest of the face covered. 

"A gas mask..." She slowly put it on and blinked a few times, unused to the feeling of such heaviness on her face. She also tightened her gloves and put the hood of her trenchcoat up, figuring she needed to be protected in all areas. "I guess I can't go to sleep now," Her voice was raspy and deep coming from the mask. 

"I read about attacks like these, they don't last forever. You have to be more careful of your extremities because the mustard gas lingers in the air and can deform you," Alan explained. 

Her eyes widened in horror as she tried to picture it and took a step back, holding her pistol for comfort. 

It was going to be a long night. 

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"It's time to put our trench raid into action," Barris announced a few days later. "We will move on from here in just a day, so best we get it done now." 

"I suppose that means it's my time to shine," Juven smiled. "I'm taking Alan and Hugh with me. Hugh's small enough to crawl through the barb wire and sneak in better," 

Hugh rolled her eyes at that. 

"Remember the plan. Take any vital piece of information you happen across and dismantle any weapons if you have the time," Barris reminded them. "Lord Jorcastle will distract them with his magic, while you three take advantage of the distraction and sneak in," 

"Yes sir," Alan nodded, turning more serious. Hugh took her sword with her and slinked away, covering her clothes in mud and crawling around on the ground. 

The mud cooled against her body and remained plastered there, but Hugh tried her hardest to focus on the goal. She heard the loud burst of flames and a brief flash of light and knew that was her chance, so she scooted herself faster and ducked her body down even further, feeling part of her coat get caught on the barb wire. 

"No!" She whispered to herself, shimmying back and forth before the barbs got unstuck and she easily dropped down into the trench. Everything was dark and silent. Her hand on her sword, she started looking around for weapons, feeling a hand touch her shoulder. In an instant, she whipped around with her sword drawn, placing it on the opponent's neck. 

"Trigger-happy, aren't you?" Barbalius smiled, making her glare. 

"What are you doing here?" 

"I thought you needed the extra help," 

Hugh ignored him and continued looking. She found a small box filled with rifles armed with bayonets and tossed out as many as she could, dumping them out into the far-stretching valley. She tossed some grenades that way too, making sure they were duds that wouldn't properly detonate. 

"Look out!" Someone shouted just as a fireball exploded next to her, knocking her off her feet and onto her back in the mud. She groaned in pain. 

"We've been spotted!" Someone else yelled, and Hugh narrowed her eyes. She quickly scanned around and found her target; their machine-gun. 

Jumping to her feet, she scrambled over and started pulling the bullets out of it, tossing them away. 

"Come on!" Alan tried to coax her, pulling on her arm, but she pulled it back and kept working. She tried to pull the trigger and nothing happened, so she stepped back, satisfied. 

"Get them! We can take at least one prisoner!" One of the Sulla soldiers shouted and Hugh took that as her cue to run, climbing out and slowly trying to crawl under the barb wire, crying out when one of the barbs got her leg. 

"Hugh!" Alan ran over and tried to pull her out. "You have to relax your body, otherwise you'll get ensnared," He tried to explain. She took a breath and tried to relax her leg, but she still felt the barbs poking at her. "Come on!" He gave one big yank and she gasped as she was pulled free; part of her pant leg ripped loudly and was left behind. She took off running with him, feeling dizzy as a few shots ran out and something burned in the back of her leg. Another shot ran out and her upper-back burned, nearly making her trip. 

"You made it!" Juven said in surprise. 

Alan nodded. "Just barely. He almost got entangled in the barb wire," 

"I dismantled the machine gun though...they won't be able to use it," She relayed, wincing at the pain in her leg. 

"You did an honorable thing, Hugh. Gave our group the upper-hand," Barbalius praised, putting a hand on her shoulder. The sudden weight was too much and she collapsed onto him; blood slowly trickled from her bare leg. Her back felt warm and sticky. 

"He's bleeding!" Alan gasped. 

"It looks like a bullet wound," Barris assessed. "We'll have to take him to a field hospital," 

Hugh's eyes fluttered as she tried to process what they were saying. It was just a wound on her leg, right? No need for all of the fuss....she would be perfectly.....fine....


	5. Nursing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hugh wakes up at a field hospital and due to her gender being revealed is left behind. Not willing to go home yet, she finds herself being taken in by the nurses and works alongside them.

Hugh woke up in a chilly steel bed covered in blankets and a regal-looking blonde nurse wearing glasses constantly fussing over her. She blinked a few times to get her senses back and realized she was in a medical tent and a few other beds were occupied with other nurses fussing over those patients. 

"You're finally awake!" Florna gasped in surprise and stood back. "Your wounds weren't severe, but they still took some time to properly wash and dress...y-you've been through...a-a lot of physical trauma, huh?" 

"Hugh?" Barbalius asked curiously, wandering in with a few of the others. "I guess you're finally awake. It didn't take us long to bring you here, but still worrying. We thought you were going to bleed out," 

"I'm fine..." She managed, sitting up to rub at her eyes. Her trenchcoat, jacket, and shirt had been removed to properly treat the wound on her back, revealing the slip she wore underneath her clothing. 

The others gasped in surprise, leading her to try and wrap herself up in the blankets before Barris walked over. 

"I knew there was something about you when you introduced yourself. Duke Olineaux doesn't have two sons, he only has one son, and one daughter," He pulled the hat off her head, which made her longer hair fall out over her shoulders and also revealed her thicker eyelashes and softer expressions. "Did you think I would not recognize the mannerisms of the girl they tried to betroth me to?" 

Hugh winced at that before sighing. "I'm Holly Olineaux...I wanted to protect my family and do a good thing by them. The fact I made it this far...it's a test of my determination, isn't it? I'm not sorry I did this, I'm only sorry I got revealed," 

"You broke the rules!" 

"In Lionheart Kingdom, women are allowed to be soldiers if they wish. If they disguise themselves and get discovered, they are usually still treated the same," Barbalius explained. "We aren't in Lionheart Kingdom anymore, but I am still honorable. She saved our group, so in return, we'll save her," 

"We're just going to leave her there?!" Alan asked in surprise. 

"She can go back home on her own," Barris said, and the group left. Hugh hung her head as Florna came back over, a sad expression on her features. 

"I-I'm sorry...." 

"You didn't do anything wrong." 

"I-If you're not r-ready to return home...y-you could help us out here...h-how old are you?" 

Hugh almost lied before she bit it back. "Sixteen...I'll be seventeen in February," 

"O-Oh....not old enough to be an actual nurse, b-but that's alright. You can comfort t-them...play games with them, r-read to them..." Florna trailed off. 

"On one condition...can I send a letter to my parents?" 

Florna's eyes widened. "O-Of course you may!" 

Hugh covered her head in her hands. She had hit a roadblock and had no clue when she'd get out of it, so...best to just make the most of the situation. 

"R-Rest though...Lord Barbalius was right, you were brought here in bad condition." Florna wrapped Hugh back in bed and left to tend to more patients, leaving Hugh alone to think on certain things. Barbalius only returned once to deliver her items, all neatly placed on top of Carrot Rice, then left again. 

Alan arrived a few minutes after that, blushing a bit. 

"U-Uh...were you really a noblelady this whole time? I just wanted to say...I-I'm sorry! We probably talked about all kinds of inappropriate things, a-and we even took a bath together!" He blushed even more even as Hugh waved him away. 

"I don't care about those things," She winced a bit and held her side. "You treated me as an equal in spite of everything, and you were....a good friend," She admitted softly. 

"T-Thank you...! I wish there was another way," 

"You act as though I'm going to be executed! That pompous commander saved my life! I'll probably go back home..." 

Alan said nothing for a while before he awkwardly tried to salute at her and then left the tent, and Hugh knew that was likely the last time she'd see her fellow soldiers again. 

Magda flew into her room later that night, curling up on her pillow. 

"I'm sorry," She said simply. 

"None of this is your fault either," Hugh grumbled. 

"Either...?" 

"The nurse tried to apologize too," 

"Oh," Magda was silent for a time. "I still feel bad...I should've done more to protect you. A Sulla cannot lie, you know. So I was truly telling the truth about everything," 

Hugh just closed her eyes, wanting to fall asleep and forget everything that had happened. 

()()()()()()()()()()()

After a few days of rest, Hugh was declared physically well enough and was dressed in a simple white shirt and black overalls with grey boots and put to work; she had a breakfast of plain broth and started organizing books, soon collecting a small stack of them and passing them out to any recovering soldiers who asked. Once Magda asked if she could just use healing magic on them to try and ease their pain, and Hugh declined. 

"Why? If a Sulla is in pain, we use magic to alleviate it in any way we can," Magda whispered from inside Hugh's collar. 

"Humans don't have magic like that," Hugh answered. 

"But if they could....?" 

"I wouldn't. In a way, pain is a good thing. It shows how much we've been through as people," Hugh put the rest of the books on the makeshift shelf and walked over to a bed with a teenage boy on it; she sat down and started reading the next chapter of the book to him. Magda ducked down further in Hugh's shirt to prevent from being spotted. 

"It's nice having someone to read to us," The soldier said after she was finished. "I'd prefer a cute girl, but hey, beggars can't be choosers, right?" 

"All the cute girls are at home, supporting the homefront," Hugh said simply, taking the book away and closing it. 

Once her work was finished for the day, she ate meatloaf with the other nurses; afterwards, Florna presented her with a pen and a sheet of paper. 

"I-It's not a-a lot....sorry, b-but...you said you wanted to write to your family," Florna explained, and Hugh gratefully took the items. 

"Yes! It's all I ever wanted to do since I joined the force!" She ran to the sleeping tent and set the paper out on the small desk in the room and quickly started to write her letter to her parents while Magda carefully floated nearby, watching her work. Since Hugh had changed her clothing, Magda had as well; into a plain white petal gown that resembled those worn by the nurses and a matching veil of petals on her head. 

_Dear Mother and Father,_

_I know you are likely very worried about what's happened to me. I can assure you nothing bad has happened...alright, that is a lie. I enlisted as your second son, but after a few weeks in battle, I got wounded during a trench raid. They took me to a field hospital and discovered my true gender and left me here. The nurses have taken me in and are training me until I decide to return home. Other than that, I am fine. I am terribly homesick though and long to return soon. If you learn of my whereabouts, please send me some things from home to comfort me. I'd love a picture. Tell Big Brother not to take his business pursuits so seriously and start looking into marriage, and also tell dear Cousin to stop beating around the bush and name a drink after me. I am the best knight in all of Finsel, after all!_

_I love all of you, especially Mom and Dad._

_Love,_

_Hugh Olineaux_

Once she finished writing, she folded it up neatly and handed it to a passing nurse, who promised she'd seal it properly and send it with the next batch of letters. Hugh wandered around for a bit, still wincing at her steps. It was nice to have dry feet again; back in the trenches her feet were often soggy and chilly and Florna told her that while she hadn't developed any serious complications such as the dreaded trenchfoot, she would still feel sore for a few days as she walked. She suddenly remembered Gonzalo carefully checking her feet one day in the trenches and then her doing the same for him and wondered if that was why her feet weren't in as bad shape as the nurses likely expected. 

It wasn't an unpleasant nor pleasant memory, just something that happened to her. He was way too tender and gentle about it, almost trying to massage her feet at points, teasing her all the while over their smoothness. When she had to check his and rub oil on them, she did so as quickly as she possibly could without rushing nor doing it sloppily. After all, if Gonzalo got injured, she'd be the first one they'd pin the blame on and she couldn't have that. 

"What am I going to do, Magda?" She asked as she settled into bed in the sleeping tent, keeping her voice down so the other girls wouldn't wake. Magda flew over and bowed her head. 

"You could go home," She finally offered. 

"I want to...yet I also somehow feel as though my job isn't done yet. Like there's more that I need to be doing," Hugh said. "I can't be a nurse or a soldier, but I also don't want to go home..." 

Magda said nothing and just curled up beside Hugh, keeping a dim light to comfort her. 

()()()()()()()()()()

"Checkmate!" Hugh cheered, flicking over the soldier's queen. 

"Awwww, that's the fourth time in a row," He sighed. He had heavy bandages over one eye and part of his head. "Can't you go easy on me?" 

"The game has little to do with your actual vision. You just have to plan ahead and make strategies," She smirked a bit. 

"You're so mean to me, Brother," 

"Another game?" 

"No, I should rest," 

Hugh nodded and carefully packed up the chess game, placing it on the small end table kept near the bookshelf. She spotted Florna heading to lunch and rushed after her. 

"Miss Florna!" She smiled, making the blonde gasp a bit. 

"O-Oh, h-hello Lord Olineaux..." Despite knowing her secret, she still referred to Hugh as male and treated her as such, which didn't bother Hugh as much as she thought it would. "How are you feeling?" 

"I wanted to ask you something," The lunch was typical meatloaf yet again, alongside lumpy mashed potatoes. 

"Hm?" Florna perked up slightly. "A-Ask me something?" 

"Before he left, Barbalius told me women in Lionheart Kingdom can become warriors and nobody judges them. Is that true? Even if she dressed like a man and got caught, they wouldn't get mad," She asked eagerly as they sat down together. 

"H-He's right...a woman has more freedoms in Lionheart Kingdom compared to here...a-at least a noblewoman does. She can be a fighter or a nurse if she pleases, and i-in fact it's a requirement for noblewomen to train to be nurses and nuns, b-before they're married off," Florna began to explain. "I-If she's caught as a soldier, she'll likely be sent home due to danger, but if she proves her worth well enough, she can stay. She's t-treated as an equal among her fellow soldiers and can train alongside them," 

Hugh nodded, feeling jealous. "I wish that could be my life...I'd much rather continue fighting," 

"I-I imagine it's not an easy one...e-even for a noble," Florna pouted. "B-But if you really want to learn more...I-I can get into contact with some people who could help. I-I don't mean to presume, but...t-there's likely a lot to you I don't know," 

"My lady!" A woman dressed smartly in a maid's dress hurried in, directing her words at Florna. "Why are you still in here? Wouldn't you feel much better eating the food I packed specifically for you?" 

"I-I wanted to eat the food the commoners w-were eating...it's not a bad thing, it tastes good," Florna blushed heavily. "I-It makes me feel more connected to my patients," 

The woman sighed a bit. "If you say so. You can be unexpectedly troublesome," 

Hugh took her leave then, figuring she had heard enough and also deciding there was likely a lot to Florna that Hugh herself didn't know either. 

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Hugh beckoned Magda over one particular day while replacing Carrot Rice's feed and watering her; as usual, Magda flew over curiously. 

"Magda, I'm so bored sitting around here. Make use of your promise and get intel for me," She directed. 

"Intel of what?" Magda asked, a serious expression on her face. 

"What are the Sulla planning to do next? Find out as much as you possibly can," 

Magda nodded and paused a bit, making Hugh stare at her. 

"What?" 

"Well, in those stories you sometimes read to the soldiers, often when the man leaves, the woman gives him a kiss for good luck," She said. "But we're both women," 

"I see nothing wrong with that. I like teasing pretty ladies regardless," She gently kissed the top of her finger, then patted the top of Magda's head with it, making her blush heavily. Hugh giggled. "Now go get the intel for me!"

"Right!" Magda flew off as Hugh waved to her, then continued caring for Carrot Rice. 

"I suppose it's just the two of us now," She sighed a bit, finally burying her face into the mare's neck, being comforted by her warm, horsey scent. She didn't cry, she didn't want to cry, and had nothing to really cry for besides. Her frustration and homesickness had been taken from Helena when she saw her last. 

Speaking of which...what ever happened to her? Juven said she was a 'present' so he likely rented her from someplace, knowing him. If she was lucky, maybe she could find Helena again and they could have another talk...nothing bad, just...a pleasant conversation. Maybe she'd expect payment, Hugh had some leftover savings. 

Yes, that would be exactly what she'd do. 

Her work finished for the day anyway, she climbed onto Carrot Rice and kicked her slightly, making her race off at a lighting speed. Hugh grinned to herself as she tightened her hold on the reins, feeling like her old self again. She could freely sit astride on the horse in her suspenders without ripping her dress, something she relished in. 

Hugh rode into the nearby town and slowed Carrot Rice down, trying to read some of the signs of the buildings they passed by. Would a brothel just openly advertise themselves or would they be sneakier about it?

"Look at him on his horse," A few noblegirls whispered as Hugh rode past. 

"He looks like a fancy knight!" 

"He's so cute..!" 

She continued riding her horse, noticing the lights turned gaudier and brighter the further she rode and she shivered, only then realizing how cold the air around her was and she didn't have the forethought nor patience to bring a coat. 

"It'll be warm inside..." She promised herself, shivering more as she jumped off Carrot Rice and led her over to a pole, trying to tie her up but fumbling with the rope. "Damn it, it's not _that_ cold outside! Stop shivering!" She scolded herself, still trembling. "Ah, damn this! Don't run off! I'll be back in a minute," She instead scolded Carrot Rice, rushing inside the building. She hugged herself as her temperature dropped lower, heading over to a desk. 

"Looking for a place to warm up?" A voice reached her ears, and she quickly nodded. "It's very cold outside, but one of my girls would be willing to warm you up, for a price," 

Hugh managed to slip a hand into her pocket and tossed the small amount of money she had onto the counter. "I already know...w-who I want..." She struggled to find her voice at first. 

"Oh? Who?" Smoke blew into her face and she awkwardly waved it away. 

"The woman with blue hair," 

"She's one of my more popular ones, though it's usually not the young men like you who ask for her. Still, I'll indulge. Helena?" 

Helena walked out a few moments later, still dressed as Hugh remembered her to be. She gasped a bit and took her arm, rushing her inside a small room with rich green decorations. She shut and locked the door, sitting Hugh by the fire. 

"You look so pale!" Helena commented. "What happened, my little cherrygirl?" 

"A-A lot..." Hugh buried her face into her knees. "I don't even know why I came here, to be honest. I should just leave," 

"Nonsense! You came here because you wanted to see me, and I'll help with that!" She sat beside Hugh. "You wanted some of my comforting again, didn't you? Tell Auntie Helena what happened," 

With a deep breath, Hugh indeed spilled out everything that had happened since they last met. She wasn't even sure how lucky she was to find her again, but took that luck and didn't stop talking for what felt like hours. Helena just listened and nodded along, eventually burying Hugh in her chest again. 

"It's as I said before, you have a very determined spirit. When all this is over, maybe you could go to Lionheart Kingdom and become a knight of your own right. So many girls would swoon over you, seeing you in glittery armor with a gold sword on top of a horse!" She teased. "Even I would be a bit jealous of that!" 

"Maybe I should just go home...I'm just being used to comfort the injured men," Hugh blushed. "Not like that! I read to them and stuff," 

Helena ran her hands through Hugh's hair. "Such a cutie...want to stay here for the night? It's still awfully cold out there....and it'll be warm in here," 

"I can't, my horse is still outside, I wasn't able to tie her up. Who knows what's happened to her," Hugh declined. 

"If you insist...but please let me give you a coat of mine!" Helena pulled away and pulled a large fur coat out of her closet, gently draping it around Hugh. "One of my patrons got it for me, but I wasn't much for fur...I thought the hunting daughter of the Olineaux would appreciate it better," 

Hugh blushed and carefully adjusted the coat on her figure as she stood up. It was rich and silky, a dark grey, and fell almost to her feet and her arms vanished entirely into the sleeves. It was also warm and smelt of Helena's perfume, a distinct flowery one she couldn't recall the name of. 

"I hope you come back at some point again. You're such a cutie. I love my little cherrygirl," Helena squeezed Hugh's hands before she quickly left, hopping back onto Carrot Rice and riding back to the medical tents, hoping nobody had really took much notice of her absence. 

Somehow, she felt as though her mind was made up. The very next day, she'd pack her things up, give her thanks to Florna for taking her in, and then start heading home. She still didn't feel ready, but she felt confused and knew it would be the best place for her to be. Once Magda arrived, then she'd be all set. 

()()()()()()()()()()() 

After breakfast, Hugh packed her things up on Carrot Rice; she didn't have much so everything fit into her bag, and she also still had Helena's fur coat to keep herself warm on her ride back. 

"I-I suppose I'll see you another time?" Florna asked shyly. 

"Doubtful. I'm going back home. Where...I belong," She hesitated a bit. 

"W-Well...you need gloves at least!" Florna insisted, running into her own tent and coming out with pure white gloves patterned with butterflies. "They're a-a bit fancy, but they'll work," She blushed. 

Hugh raised her eyebrows and slipped the gloves on, knowing it'd likely be best to not question it. After all, nobody knows everything about everyone, right? Florna said so herself. 

"Thank you for taking care of me," Hugh finally said, getting Carrot Rice ready to ride again. Once Florna waved and headed off, Magda flew over in a panic, pulling on Hugh's collar. 

"Lord Olineaux!" 

"What is it?" She asked in surprise, wondering why Magda was suddenly so flustered. 

"Your group...they finished their fighting and are returning to Finsel, but..." She hesitated a bit. "A few of the Sulla soldiers were left behind. I flew around and listened the best I could. They want to sneak into Finsel's celebration party to welcome back the soldiers and kidnap one of the Four Family heads, probably kill them as an example..." 

Hugh's eyes widened. "Nobody else knows?"

"Of course not! You were the only person I told!" 

"Come on! We have to warn the others at the ceremony then!" She made sure Magda was snug and then hopped onto Carrot Rice, kicking her and riding off rapidly. If she rode all day and night, she'd make it to the festival right as it was starting, assuming it was being held in the square. It'd be rough on her mare especially, but she had no other choice. She needed to warn the others and save whoever they planned on making an example of. This must've been the last thing she needed to do before she could truly go home, and Hugh was ready for it. One last chance to prove herself, and one last chance to bring honor and glory to her family name.


	6. Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hugh receives the intel she needed from Magda and convinces the rest of her soldier friends to rescue one of the noble heads and have a climatic sword-fight with the remaining Sulla.

The town square of the city was lit up spectacularly with bright lamps and every so often fireworks would go off. The cheering crowd was mainly made up of civilians and lower-class nobles, while the Four Families sat higher-up in a fenced-off area to watch the parade more properly. Several of the soldiers waved and grinned at the crowd, looking regal up on the horses; all were dressed splendidly for the occasion. 

"The Heroes of Finsel!" A male civilian gasped. 

"Hey, some of them are cute!" A young female civilian whispered to her friend, who giggled in agreement and waved to one. 

"They protected us from the Sulla threat!" An older female civilian explained. 

"And some of them are sons from the Four Families....I trust them even more," Another male civilian commented. 

Barbalius rode his horse to the podium set up and gently got off it, standing up at the podium and beginning to make a speech about how brave his particular group of soldiers were and how hard they fought and trained to be in the position they were currently in. The civilians clapped and cheered when appropriate while the Four Families continued to sit silently and watched. 

"Dame Jorcastle?" A teenage boy wandered over, looking curious. "I've heard you're a real mage!" 

"I am skilled in only a certain type of spell, hardly enough to call myself a mage. Now go along, continue watching the celebration with your parents," She briefly glanced down at him. 

"B-But..." The boy frowned a bit and hid his hand behind his back, suddenly casting a spell that caught the roof she was sitting under on fire. 

Everyone screamed and promptly started hurrying away, trying to get far from the fire. 

"Remain calm and remember your training!" Barris shouted at the soldiers, who all nodded. 

A taller man swooped in and grabbed Tilla, subduing her and flying off. The teenager grinned a bit. 

"Until you give into our demands, your beloved Jorcastle head will be killed! And who's to say we won't do the same for the other heads?" He mocked before rushing off. Instantly, the two Bavlenka daughters were scooped away for safety while the Sakans and Olineauxes hid themselves and waited for a better opportunity to attack. 

Hugh finally rode in, glancing around in a hurry and riding over to the group. 

"You guys!" 

"Lady Olineaux! This is highly dangerous for someone like you!" Barris scolded upon seeing her. "Your family is being escorted to safety, I suggest you join them," 

"My family..?" She asked in surprise, almost losing her composure for a moment before she hardened her features. She rode past Barris and addressed the remaining group. "Those Sullas took Dame Jorcastle and are likely hiding her in an administrative building! Do any of you have any swords? If not, head to the barracks beforehand! The Sulla are allergic to iron, it's deadly to them!" She directed. "I'll take their leader, I have an idea," 

"I'll do anything to save Mother," Gonzalo said, suddenly serious. "Are you sure this'll work?" 

Hugh nodded, already riding off. "Get your swords and hide out at the Senate building! Wait for my signal!" She continued to ride, letting Magda out of her shirt and letting her fly beside her. She ducked into a clothing shop that was empty of people and sighed a bit, ordering Carrot Rice to remain outside. A burst of wind blew the glass in the windows out and she instantly ducked behind the counter, panting. 

"What's your plan?" Magda asked, watching Hugh run around the store. 

"I'm going to disguise myself to get closer to the leader, then the men and I attack with our swords," She pouted. "What do Sulla wear? A normal-sized Sulla, like...a girl-sized Sulla. There aren't any flowers in my size," 

"Hmmm..." Magda flew about, pointing out a few objects she thought fit. "We don't have much time-" 

"Luckily, I consider myself a master of getting ready quickly," Hugh smirked and ducked under the counter again, throwing off her plain shirt and black suspenders and pants given to her by the nurses, her heavy fur coat, and finally her hat and boots and gloves, tossing them all aside. Instead, she draped a Grecian-style sheer gown in green over her figure; it made her look willowy and thin and showed off her ankles. She put on a pair of golden sandals and also matching beads around her neck and wrists. 

"Here," Magda flew over and gently ran her tiny hands through Hugh's hair; it untangled and shone brightly and flowers blossomed from it. She did a similar spell on Hugh's face, making her lips fuller and pinker with heavy eyeliner around her eyes. Finally, she gave her a pair of sheer and fake wings that shimmered in rainbow colours in dull light; they were dragonfly wings similar to her own. "You look just like a Sulla girl!" 

"Perfect," Hugh strapped her sword to her waist underneath her dress and bypassed looking in the mirror. She had to hurry. Shrugging on the fur coat Helena gave her, she rode sidesaddle and kicked Carrot Rice gently, heading for the Senate building, silently praying she wasn't too late and everything would work out in her favour. 

"Hugh!" Alan greeted in surprise once she finally arrived, clutching her coat closer to her body as she jumped off her horse. "The others are already in position," 

"Good," 

"You look...different..." He blushed a bit, making her smirk.

"Cherryboy...it's part of my plan," She waved him away and held her head up high, sneaking in through a side door and feeling Magda's presence, glad she was still close by. Her sword was cold steel so close to her flesh. She walked slower and leaned against the wall slightly. 

"Who are you? Stop!" The teenaged Sulla from earlier called out, a fireball in his hand. Unlike Magda, he had bright brown wings speckled with white spots, feathered like a bird's. 

"I was sent to keep you all company," Hugh giggled, slowly dropping the coat and tossing it away. 

_Sorry Helena,_ She briefly thought to herself as she unfurled the fake wings to the best of her ability. The teenager instantly extinguished his flame.

"I've never seen you before, what's your name?" He asked nicely. Hugh curtsied and showed off her ankles more, slowly lifting up part of her dress. 

"Lavender," 

"What a strange name!" 

Some of the older Sulla eyed her wearily, even as she giggled innocently. 

"But I was specifically sent to find your leader and give him a present...a present I think he'd like a lot," She slowly ran her fingers down the Sulla's body, secretly cringing inside. God, she hated being such a vapid, foolish girl even for show. 

"Believe it or not, that would be me," The teenager smirked. "Edum," 

"Really? Oh, you must be so brave and strong to be the leader of your group at such a young age!" She subtly looked around and found Tilla tied-up with magic binds in the corner, knocked-out. She hardened her features slightly. "It's a shame though, I always hate seeing such young men at war," She started to walk away, swishing her sheer skirt slightly. "So young, yet you have to kill other people..." 

"Lord-" One of the Sulla tried to call out before Juven snuck up behind him and covered his mouth, dragging him off. Gonzalo, Alan, and Willow jumped from their hiding places as well and started fighting with their respective Sulla, making Hugh smirk. 

"A trap?!" 

"You're too young and naive still," Hugh moved quickly and reached for the sword at her waist, pulling up her skirt and slipping it out easily. She twirled around on her feet and posed with the sword in her hands, standing on her tip-toes. "It was obvious we'd try to rescue Dame Jorcastle!" 

"But to use such a tactic..?" 

"Stop talking and just fight with me. A true knight doesn't waste his time with meaningless words in the heat of battle," She still stood posed, and finally Edum grew annoyed and tossed a series of fireballs at her, making her twirl around to avoid them all. He then threw a wind spell at her and knocked her back, shoving her into a wall. She winced a bit as the fake wings on her back got crushed. 

"The ultimate proof you're not a Sulla," He smirked a bit. He had all the colourings of a forest and if Hugh were more into that sort of thing, she'd probably find him cuter. 

"You're just upset you fell for that in the first place!" Hugh kept a tight grip on her sword and spun around, gasping a bit when he pulled out a small dagger. "I thought Sulla were allergic to iron and steel?" 

"It's silver," He dived for her but she was still quicker, jumping out of the way and landing on her feet, nearly doing the splits. 

"Lord Olineaux!" Gonzalo shouted at her as the iron met silver. 

"Go check on Dame Jorcastle!" She shouted back, slowly shoving the dagger back and rising to her feet. She spun around and cut part of Edum's uniform off, making him wince as it drew blood from his arm. 

"H-Hey...!" He reached for his dagger, wincing again and instead having to clutch his arm. 

"It's made from iron," Hugh said calmly. After a moment of hesitance, she drove the remainder of it into his heart, slowly pulling it out as blood dripped everywhere. 

"Hugh!" Alan rushed over as she struggled to take a few deep breaths. "Are you okay?" 

"Yes," She said simply, tossing the sword onto the floor. "How's Dame Jorcastle? Did you kill the others?" 

"They put up a hard fight, let me tell you, but we prevailed," Willow sighed. 

"Mother? Are you alright?" Gonzalo asked, undoing the binds on her. She slowly opened her eyes and then stood up, still looking as regal and proud as ever. 

"I am perfectly alright," 

"I'm sorry I made a mess of things," Hugh apologized genuinely, hurrying over and curtsying. "I thought the group had already defeated all of the Sullas of that battalion, but-" 

"Dame Jorcastle," Barris and Barbalius walked over as well, Barris specifically addressing her. "I told her to go back to her family," 

"I see," Tilla walked over to Hugh and lifted her head up, putting her hand under her chin. "I sense traces of Sulla magic in you. Was that how you were able to do all of this?" 

"No...that was my Sulla friend, Magda," Hugh said, and Magda herself appeared, flying over. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise at the tiny creature, who rested on Hugh's head. "She's been very helpful with gathering intel and just comforting me throughout my long days training and fighting in the trenches. Not all Sulla are bad and she's proof of that," 

"Another Sulla girl?" Alan asked in wonder. "I-I have one too! Jiu! She's a kind soul who'd never hurt a fly. I left her with a very trusted friend after I got conscripted...I-I should've known..." 

Hugh continued to look into Tilla's dark, piercing eyes, saying nothing. She felt it was past her time to say anything. 

"You saved my life. That is something I am sure the Jorcastle Family as a whole will not forget," She gestured over to Gonzalo. "Here, a token of my family. Your own family is likely still in the square. Go to them, that is where you belong now, little girl," 

"Dame Jorcastle," Hugh began as Tilla gently placed a small badge in her hand. It was emerald green and etched in the regal shape of a horse head, the symbol of the Jorcastle Family. Held in the right light, it had a dull sparkle. 

"Why don't you take this as well? Clean it up and use it as a trophy!" Juven teased, also handing her the bloody sword. 

"I...I'm not sure if I want to go home," She slowly admitted. 

"It's the right place for you to be right now," Tilla said with finality, and finally Hugh just nodded and walked off, wrapping the gifts in the fur coat and walking out into the town square. Heavy flakes of snow had begun falling and she looked up to the sky in wonder. 

"Where's your family?" Magda asked curiously. 

"They must've left already..." She gently wrapped herself up again and rode off on Carrot Rice, wanting to make one final stop before she went home for good. 

()()()()()()()()()()()

The Sky Church always kept its doors open in winter for any sick or cold civilians, and Hugh curtsied a bit herself as she walked inside, holding the fur coat and gloves. 

"Hello? Who are you?" A woman with blue hair and a black habit asked sternly. "You look too well-off to be in need of help," 

"Helena?" Hugh asked instead, making the woman frown. 

"No." Her features softened ever-so-slightly upon seeing the coat. "Where'd you get that?" 

"Helena let me borrow it, but since I'm going home...it feels right to return it to her. I know she wanted me to have it, but I have no use for it. My closet at home is filled with coats and furs," She held it out and the nun gingerly took it. "I don't know your relationship with her and I won't assume. But you can give that to her the next time you see each other, right?" 

"Yes." She then motioned to the gloves. 

"From Florna...same thing. Please give them to her too," She handed them to the nun too and curtsied again, saddling Carrot Rice up and sighing. 

"Lord Olineaux...what will you do with me when you return home? Will your family let me stay?" Magda asked in a firm voice. "I feel we've grown so attached lately..." 

"Why don't we go home and ask them?" She smiled weakly. 

Her family...what would they think of her now? She had sent a letter to them but never received a reply. Would they be upset with her for risking her life, or praise her for being the perfect soldier? 

There was only one way to find out.


	7. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hugh has finally returned home with honor to her family, who are thrilled to see her back safely. Realizing what she finally wants to do in her life, she starts to carve out her own path in life, and her family members are supportive of her.

It took several days for Hugh to ride back to the Olineaux manor due to the heavy downpours of snow she had to contend with; both her and Carrot Rice were decent at navigating around but she still didn't like doing it and didn't want to keep delaying the inevitable. 

Once she arrived, her hair had grown out to her shoulders and she was dressed warmly in a a high-necked purple dress and white gloves and matching cloak, black boots on her feet. She sighed and tied Carrot Rice up in the stable, gently patting her before she walked into the manor grounds proper. 

She spotted Zoe sitting alone on the bench in the garden, dressed in warm clothing as well. Holding her head up high, she kept her hand on the sword at her waist and stuck her chest out slightly to make the Jorcastle pin more noticeable. 

"Dad?" She asked slowly, pulling the sword out. "This is the sword I used to kill the leader of the Sulla group whom fought with my group for several weeks. It tasted the blood of a non-human...." It had been cleaned since then and shined splendidly. "It's your sword, actually. And I saved Dame Jorcastle and she gave me this medal of appreciation and gratitude," She unpinned it from her outfit and placed it in Zoe's hands alongside the sword. "I've come back as a war hero, exactly as I wanted. Now our family is no longer a laughing-stock," She bowed her head. 

Zoe was silent for a moment before she heard the gifts clatter to the ground and felt Zoe wrap his arms around her and hugged her tightly. She gasped a bit in surprise. 

"D-Dad?!" 

"Holly...the only thing we wished for was your safe return. Having a daughter like you...that is a gift greater than any war or battle could supply, even if a Four Family member provided it," Zoe said, smiling at her. She felt tears well up in her eyes. 

"Dad....I missed you so much..." She buried her face in his chest. It had started snowing again, light flakes that dusted the garden. "I've been away for so long...I belong here with the Olineauxes," 

"Holly?" Christie's voice reached her, and soon she found herself being hugged by her mom as well. "Oh, we missed you so much! Every day I worried about you, being so far away and being in danger," 

"I handled it though," She pouted a bit. 

"I know you did, because you're every bit my daughter as you are Zoe's," Christie smiled warmly at her, running a hand through her hair. "I think the short hair suits you, you should keep it," 

"Really?" The tears flowed faster despite the smile on Hugh's face. 

"You came home just a week before the holidays, we were so afraid we'd have to put up the signature holly displays without you..." Christie trailed off. 

"Sister?" 

"Cousin?" 

Balfey and Vicky ran out to the garden as well and gave their round of hugs to Hugh, smiling in their own ways. 

"A medal from the Jorcastles! Sister, you're a hero!" Balfey gasped in amazement. 

"But you couldn't have brought home a cute boy? Really, dear cousin," Vicky teased lightly. "At least now I have someone to make tequila with," 

"Oh, while I was there, I made a friend. If you all want it, I'll have her live here....Magda?" Hugh called, and Magda flew over, wearing her own warm ensemble from leaves and cotton. 

"A Sulla?" Vicky asked curiously, tilting her head. 

"Magda and I grew close these past few months...I know she's a Sulla, but she's not bad. Evidently one of my soldier friends is raising a Sulla girl too! If it weren't for her, I likely wouldn't have lasted as long as I did," Hugh began. "Could she please stay here?" 

"I think such a cute girl should live with us!" Balfey agreed instantly, making Vicky playfully swat his arm. 

"Well...if she's truly such a good friend to you, and helped you out..I see nothing wrong with it," Christie smiled. 

"Same here. Whatever will make you happy," Zoe helped Hugh stand up and handed her the sword and pin back. "Welcome to the family, Magda," 

"A-A pleasure, Duke Olineaux," Magda stammered a bit, feeling shy.

The family then walked inside the manor together, smiling and asking Hugh for all kinds of war stories. 

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Balfey! Hang the ribbon up higher. I want them to be above the curtains," Vicky directed at Balfey, who was starting to wobble on a ladder. 

"Have mercy! I might fall if I lean out too far!" He cried. 

Hugh shook her head in amusement and finished laying out an assortment of holly on the fireplace, jumping down from her own stepstool. Magda had insisted she use her magic to decorate the manor instantly for Christmas, but Christie declined, saying part of the fun was putting everything in its place yourself. The house was decorated in nice reds and greens, and the windows had been delightfully frosted from the snowy weather outside. 

"It smells so good in here!" Magda praised as Hugh started another part of the house, putting her holly decorations everywhere. "Like pinecones," 

"Probably due to some of the centerpieces. Or maybe the tree. Dad went all out this year, didn't he? Got a real tree and everything." She explained. "I just wish I got to pick it out," 

"Cousin, someone is at the door for you!" Vicky called up the stairs, making Hugh pause. 

"I wonder who it is...?" She went downstairs, finding Vicky smiling at her mysteriously. "What is it?" 

"My darling cousin sure hangs out with the most interesting people, doesn't she? I'd daresay you have more attractive friends than I!" She teased. 

Hugh hurried over to the door, gasping in surprise when she found Florna standing there with a woman dressed in black she didn't recognize, as well as the stern-looking maid. 

"Lord Olineaux," Florna began, and Hugh felt an overwhelming desire to curtsy. "I-I don't want to take up too much of your time. R-Remember when we had that discussion a while b-back, about how you wanted to become a soldier in the Lionheart Kingdom?" 

"Yes?" Hugh blinked a bit. 

"W-Well, it took me some time, but I found s-someone who'd be willing to help train you if you'd let her. S-She's returning back home...I-I mean, to her home, in a few weeks, so she needs a quick answer." Florna blushed lightly. 

"Bergnya is one of the most skilled female knights in all of the nation. Even though it's common for Lionheart women to possess at least a small knowledge of martial arts and fighting, most don't advance past that. Bergnya though, she's even been to war with her skills, much like you, though she did not disguise herself," The maid explained. "Upon hearing of her I figured there'd be no-one better to help you," 

"A pleasure to meet you, my lady," Bergnya grinned, gently kissing Hugh's hand. "Aw, no blush? I love it when noblewomen do that," 

"What's all this?" Zoe asked, coming to the door. "Visitors?" 

"Dad, they want me to visit the Lionheart Kingdom. So I can train and become a lady-knight in my own right, like Bergnya. I was really fascinated by their customs," Hugh explained in a rush. "Please, Dad? I know you and Mom have already been through a lot, but-" 

"Is this what you truly want?" Zoe cut her off, eyeing her steadily. 

Hugh nodded and held up her head. "It is. Training is grueling, but during it I realized I could be a good fighter. I performed quite well during our team's trench raid and killed their Sulla squad leader. Though I have much more to learn, I think I could be very good. And...I have no interest in being a noblelady. I want to be a knight...that way, I can bring honor to our family in the only way I know how. Not through marriage but through military honor," 

Zoe smiled sadly at her. "Then if you truly want it, do it. Who am I to stand in the way of my only daughter's dreams? But indulge us for just a few more weeks. Your mom and I, we're getting old. Let us celebrate Christmas one last time as a family. And...how about this. You leave the day after your seventeenth birthday. Deal?" 

Hugh glanced over nervously at Bergnya, who grinned. 

"I don't mind hanging around for a month or two more. I get a cute girl out of the deal!" She exclaimed, making Hugh blush. "See, there it is!" 

"There you go. Now come on, help your old man decorate the tree. It's a huge one this year," Zoe said, and Hugh curtsied to the women before hurrying off to the storage closet to get the ornaments. Once she was alone, she jumped high into the air with a cheer. 

"I'm going to be a knight!" 

"Congratulations!" Magda smiled happily. "I knew I was going to help your dreams come true!" 

Hugh smiled back at her. "I suppose I wouldn't have realized all of this without you...I'll be able to become a knight in my own way, my own right," She picked the box up carefully and headed down the stairs, ready to help decorate the tree. 

()()()()()()()()()()()

It snowed on Hugh's birthday, a heavy blizzard that covered the house and darkened the inside view even with the lights lit. Still, she cared little. She got dressed in the top half of a purple suit but the lower half of a purple gown, shocking her parents and Balfey but earning Vicky's grin of approval. They had carrot rice and wasabi, lobster sandwiches and kidney pie, and all the while Hugh wondered about her soldier friends. She wished she could've invited them too. 

Then it was time for the cake; a three-layered chocolate-lemon one with seventeen candles easily placed on each layer and decorated with sugary candies. Hugh instantly stuck out a finger and licked some icing off. 

"Happy Birthday! Another year gone, Sister! Now you're older and wiser!" Balfey cheered. 

"You're blossoming into more of a woman!" Vicky grinned. "Or perhaps man, going off your attire tonight," 

"Another year, huh..." Zoe sighed wistfully. "Seems like just yesterday you were drinking from a baby bottle and playing with dolls," 

"I've never played with dolls," Hugh rolled her eyes. 

"Let an old man dream," Zoe teased her. 

"Did you make a wish on your candles?" Christie asked curiously as the cake was served to everyone. 

"I think...everything I could've wanted has already come true," Hugh said, watching Magda nibble on a tiny cake piece as she sat at the table, up in a tiny chair fit for a little queen. 

"Your mother and I wish you the best in Lionheart Kingdom. Send us lots of letters, alright?" Zoe said. "You likely tried to send us some before, but...circumstances prevented them from being sent easily. So here's hoping we'll actually stay in contact this time," 

"A toast!" Vicky cheered, and they all clicked their glasses together and sipped from the tequila; Hugh smiled at the familiar lime-orange taste she loved so much. She licked some salt off daintily. 

After the party, she felt pleasantly full and tipsy and finished her packing; Balfey had honored her request and together they modified the clothing that no longer fit him into clothing that fit her and she would be packing those. If she ever wanted to dress like a woman again, it would be in Lionheart's own folk costume and nothing from Finsel. She not only packed clothing but also other necessities and of course her sword. She barely slept that night, then woke up in the morning to have buttery toast and milk before she got dressed in a plain brown suit and coat and grabbed her bag. 

"Ready to go?" Magda asked, and Hugh nodded. Christie came downstairs to see her off, giving her a hug. 

"Oh, Holly....Hugh...whatever you wish to be referred to as now, know you'll always be my child. I'm glad to see you finally so happy after so long," 

"Mom...I don't want to start crying and look a mess right before they get here," Hugh scolded lightly. 

"I know. I just wanted to have my own moment alone with you," 

There was a knock and Hugh hugged Christie one last time, hugging and waving goodbye to the remainder of her family, who had joined them by then. She pulled open the door to see Bergnya decked out in shimmery knight armor, tightly holding onto the reins of her horse. 

"Come on! We're riding half of the way there! Get on your own horse!" She grinned, and Hugh grinned herself. In a moment she had saddled up Carrot Rice, let Magda perch on her shoulder, and rode up beside Bergnya. She gave her family one final wave. "Race ya there?" 

"You're on!" Hugh smirked, and their horses reared and the two raced off. Hugh continued to smirk as she felt the wind on her face and the feeling of adrenaline rushing through her, coursing through her veins. 

It was a new ending and yet also a new beginning, and Hugh Olineaux was ready for whatever the future was ready to bring her.


End file.
